What’s your favorite media for non-verbal communication, Dear Reader? Are you a texter, or do you prefer email? It’s hard to imagine a world without digital connections. I don’t know if it’s my age, or my love for words that keeps me writing them on paper and putting them in the mail. Funny thing is, no matter the age of the recipient, they usually seem to enjoy to getting an envelope in the mail, hand-addressed to them.

Have you ever seen one of these? Postcards were like the text version of a letter, short and sweet.

I began writing letters and postcards to Daddy when he was away at Army schools and annual military maneuvers.

Plus, I’d cut my teeth on Mama’s stories of corresponding with nine guys from her hometown during World War II. Maybe that’s where Warrior Heart’s journey began.

The nitty gritty of writing Warrior Heart started with researching for letters from American battlefields. That was painstaking, but actually reading some of them was heartbreaking. I realized that listening to veterans’ “war stories” from World War II through the Korean War, Vietnam Conflict, and Gulf War usually only painted a homogenized picture of life (and death) on the battlefield. Some battlefield letters through American history will be shared in Warrior’s Heart.

Obviously, there are no written letters from warriors during biblical battles, but for many of them, Scripture provides a lot of insight into their hearts, or circumstances. My audacious, arrogant goal is to compose proxy letters that share a little information about the warrior, his battle, and God’s promise to him/her. (Yes, there are a couple of women included.)

I must admit, Dear Reader, that my first attempts at writing letters from biblical battle grounds did nothing more than regurgitate a few facts garnered from scriptural and historical references. Let’s just say, they were really dry and mostly just “laid on the page.” I had to take a step back and reevaluate the goal for composing them in the first place. It was time to monitor (shut and listen to what God had to say) and adjust (following God’s plan and words, not mine).

When I finally got my brain and my spirit to calm down enough to monitor and adjust to God’s guidance, this is the seed He planted: “Letters from the battlefield must be from both history and the heart. Write from the heart, not the head.”

Suddenly the words and letters began to fall into place. I could barely sleep from wanting to capture all I’d been learning about a specific warrior and communicating some of the angst that may have been felt before a battle.

Here’s a little teaser below. It’s still a bit raw, but I hope you will find a little something that will resonate in your gut.

Moses,

I’m scared . . .  no, not really . . . okay, maybe a little. But, Moses, how can I call myself a man of God, how can I love Yahweh, trust and rely on Him, and still be fearful? 

We have crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, just as the Lord said we would. The Lord showed His power when He caused the waters of the Jordan to cease for the millions of us, our cattle, and carts to cross. Every fighting man has been circumcised, and we have celebrated Passover. Your children are growing in strength and determination to conquer the place Yahweh has given us for our home.

Moses, the fire grows low as the darkness of night surrounds me. Is it chill in the air, or my apprehension about the coming battle on the other side of the hill that sends tremors up and down my spine? 

All those years I followed you, saw the Lord use you to channel His miracles, and yes, a few times screw up royally, but I can’t recall ever seeing fear etched on your face. I saw amazement, sometimes anger or frustration, and more than once a little arrogance. (I’ve wondered perhaps if arrogance was the forerunner to failures; a cautionary tale for me.)

Moses, you should see the walls of Jericho, over a dozen feet tall and more than six feet thick. And that’s what God has told me the children of Israel are to conquer first! When I say conquer, I mean obliterate, killing everything that moves. My men aren’t trained to kill women and children. This plan sounds nuttier all the time. 

We are to walk around the base of the wall once a day for six days. God even specified the marching order for soldiers and priests with horns. During those six days, no one is to utter a sound, nada, only a blast of the trumpets. That’s about 40,000 men keeping their yaps shut at one time. Can you imagine no sound? A large part of my anxiety is that maybe I’ve misunderstood Yahweh’s outrageous instructions. Have I become arrogant, too full of myself and trying to concoct a seemingly impossible battle scheme to fill my mind instead of fear . . .

Dear Reader, thank you for choosing to share the journey of Experiencing the Warrior Heart of God: Letters from the Battlefield, with me.

Frankly, I don’t know for certain where this journey will lead. But, if you’re like many others, we all have battles to fight somewhere on our personal journeys. And, maybe if you’re like me, sometimes it helps to read about how others came through their battles.

Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you. No one will be able to stop you all your life. I will not abandon you. I will never leave you . . . Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:5-9 ERV