My Battle

     Ever since I was a kid, I have loved war. I had loved the idea of two massive armies clashing with big explosions and guns. I loved everything about war. The tactics, the honor, the courage of the soldiers, and what they stood for. A battle between good and evil, between hopeful and prideful. Pretty quickly, I fell in love with Star Wars, Halo, and Call of Duty because it was awesome warfare. When I was younger, I would imagine battles in my head, whether big open conflicts or small little skirmishes in tight spaces. In these battles, I would create characters and narratives from both sides. I would give each one personalities and reasons why they would be fighting. They say “War is enjoyable to those who never experienced it”. While this was directed towards physical warfare, I believe this can apply to spiritual warfare as well. Recently, I just resolved a major conflict of mine that I had been struggling with for the past few months. While the details to this conflict are rather personal and raw, I will not be able nor willing to share it here. However I would be willing to tell it like I would when I was younger.

Origins: Like every war, there are two sides. The first were the Terrans. They were a peaceful people who were happy and content. While they had a few small cities,  a lot of them were farmers and simple men. They were led by Karina. Daughter of a priest of an ancient order.  She was kind and thoughtful, and led her people well. On the other side were the Tundrens. While for the moment, they were also peaceful, but their past one of war and bloodshed. They worked hard to earn what they built. Unlike the Terran farmers, the Tundrens were technologically advanced and had used science to build massive cities. They were led by Gorgi (Gore – gee). A charismatic and tyrannical man. He was a smooth talker and master tactician and always got what he wanted. While the two sides didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, they were still able to coexist together.

    Tension: A large meteor has crashed down onto the planet in an area that was between the two nations but unclaimed. The Terrans petitioned the Tundren government if they could claim the rock in exchange for freshly grown crops. Gorgi agreed. Some time later, a group of businessmen from a very powerful corporation came to Gorgi and claimed that the meteor was worth a lot and they would pay a lot of money to whoever would sell the materials. Seeing a business opportunity that could make his empire even richer, Gorgi couldn’t pass it up. But this would mean going to war with the Terrans. How could a group of peaceful farmers stand against the Tundrens superior strength, plus the businessmen promised weapon and financial support in exchange for the meteor. And thus, war began.

    (This is the part of the story that matters)
    War: It began small, with some raids on camps on the far side of the meteor. The Terrans quickly became overrun. Thinking that the Terrans would be afraid and run away, the Tundrens marched forward aiming to scare and intimidate rather than kill. The Tundrens were surprised when the Terrans regrouped and fought back. Just because they were a peaceful people doesn’t mean they were pacifists. As farmers, they had to learn how to defend their farm from wild beasts and raiders. They had become generations of amazing defenders. The Terrans dug in and used the terrain to their advantage to hold the Tundrens at bay. Humiliated that his plan was not working as he intended, Gorgi changed tactics.

   He gathered all of his forces at the capital as a show of strength and broadcasted it so everyone could see. The Terrans were terrified. But Karina believed that they could do it. The ancient order offered their help if Karina would let of her control on the battlefield. But she believed in her people and that they were strong enough, that hope was strong enough. The Terrans dug in, but with every ten small battles that they won, they would lose one major one. The more they dug in and fought, the harder they would be hit. Thinking that they would be able to exhaust the Tundrens, they kept fighting. Then a wave of bombers wiped out the Terran defenses. The Terrans scrambled to rebuild them. Then a group of highly skilled and elite mercenaries punched through them again. And the cycle kept repeating until every single day was a battle to survive. But the people never lost hope in Karina, but she was losing hope herself.

   They say that great generals will never use the same tactic again because each time it is used, it gets less and less effective. If the Terrans were to survive, they needed to change tatics. So Karina did something no one saw coming. She surrendered. Not to the Tundrens, but to the priests of the ancient order. They told her to withdraw her troops from the meteor and let them take care of it. Seeing no other option, she ordered the withdrawal. The Tundrens took control of the rock. The priests went away and came back with an army of dragons and set them loose on the Tundrens and the corporation coming to claim their prize. They were annihilated and the dragons claimed that territory for themselves, destroying anyone who got too close. And thus, the war was over.

   Reality: The real story was a battle between heart and mind, spirit and flesh. Where the Terrans were my heart, the Tundrens were my mind. The corporations were outside events or circumstances that had influence over my mind. And the priests were God. When I let go of my control of the battle and gave it to God, He took it all away. In short, because I stopped fighting, God was able to win my battle for me.