Lots of Luck Noblesse Oblige Reinter

“There is an appointed time for everything”

Summer 2003. Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. The war against terrorism has not ended.

The huge grey McDonnell Douglas C17 was cruising at an altitude of twenty-eight thousand feet. Below was the cold and dark Atlantic Ocean. The moon was full on this night and its light cast a faint silver shimmer across the water, far below. Tonight the moon was low in the western sky just above the semi-dark horizon. Its beam stretched from the far horizon directly back toward the approaching aircraft and left its path on the ocean, as if God had provided the pilots a roadmap back home. It was a relatively calm night for the Atlantic Ocean for this time of the year. The ocean’s swell was gentle and the ever present white caps looked like buttercream frosting on an angel food cake. There were no clouds ahead to hinder visibility for the pilots. A feeling of peace and serenity settled in the cockpit as both pilots gazed at the surreal sight ahead of them.

This flight was on its way from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the United States. Four powerful jet engines pushed the huge aircraft, slicing through the skies at four hundred and fifty knots. Each massive jet left a vapor trail behind the aircraft like four white ruffled ribbons in the clear night sky.

A full moon reflected off each ribbon before slowly dissipating in the cold air. This flight and the next ten hours would have one homesick Marine, Staff Sergeant Dan Mastik, wrestling with his thoughts and sentimental memories on his return home. One memory in particular, was nestled in his pocket, something he had treasured since he was a teenager. That treasure and the memories it represented had journeyed with him on two deployments to the Middle East. Dan’s love, trust and faith in God, along with that very special memory in his pocket, had propelled him through some tough times and back to safety more than once. It was in those lonely and often terrifying moments he would hold the treasure in his hands and pray to God.

He didn't realize it yet, but God’s plan for him was just beginning to unfold. There is a time for every event in one’s life, and in the next few days Dan was about to find out his.