Still Downrange, but in Country: PTSD Parables

By David Lefavor

For those who have endured the battle; wars, unlike fairy tales, rarely end happily-ever-after. For homecomings, victory speeches, and parades quickly fade and are replaced by the quotidian rhythms of life—rhythms consisting of conscious and unconscious memories that are simultaneously distant but ever-near. These are the memories that both reveal and hide the psychic, social, and spiritual wounds of war. Both the congressionally designated June 27th “National PTSD Awareness Day” and the National Center for PTSD’s designation of June as “PTSD Awareness Month” are powerful and timely reminders of this reality. A thoughtful reading of this book will foster a clear and deeper understanding and appreciation for the all too tragic, but at times hidden, wounds afflicting the lives of over 20% of our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as well as the lingering trauma of nearly 31% of Vietnam veterans. Awareness and understanding constitute the first step toward healing. A reading of "Still Downrange, but in Country – PTSD Parables" is the best place to begin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Lefavor
• Release date: May 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310825842

Book preview

Still Downrange, but in Country – PTSD Parables

by Chaplain David E. Lefavor, D.Min, BCC

Copyright 2010 by David Lefavor

Smashwords Edition

This is an internet text only version of the book:

Cloudy With a Chance of Ambrosia

by Chaplain David E. Lefavor, D.Min, BCC

Table of Contents

Chapter One The Power of Parables

Chapter Two Cloudy with a Chance of Ambrosia

Chapter Three Spotlight on PTSD

Chapter Four Why PTSD Stories Matter

Chapter Six Backstreet Memories

Chapter Seven Reaching Out for Help

Chapter Eight Epilogue

Dedicated to those veterans who have answered the call to serve our country and

those who shall have borne the battle.

Foreword

For those who have endured the battle; wars, unlike fairy tales, rarely end happily-ever-after. For homecomings, victory speeches, and parades quickly fade and are replaced by the quotidian rhythms of life—rhythms consisting of conscious and unconscious memories that are simultaneously distant but ever-near. These are the memories that both reveal and hide the psychic, social, and spiritual wounds of war. Both the congressionally designated June 27th National PTSD Awareness Day and the National Center for PTSD’s designation of June as PTSD Awareness Month are powerful and timely reminders of this reality. A thoughtful reading of this book will foster a clear and deeper understanding and appreciation for the all too tragic, but at times hidden, wounds afflicting the lives of over 20% of our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as well as the lingering trauma of nearly 31% of Vietnam veterans. Awareness and understanding constitute the first step toward healing. A reading of Cloudy with a Chance of Ambrosia is the best place to begin.

Chaplain Jerry L. Dickerson, Ph.D., D.Min. LCDR, CHC, USN, RET

Chapter One The Power of Parables

Once upon a time.... Those four simple words always seem to immediately captivate children, transporting them to the fascinating and wonderful land of story time. With adults, those words are a little different. Such as, I remember once, or That reminds me of something that happened to me a while ago, or even Let me tell you what just happened! The terminology is slightly different, but the effect is the same: we are immediately interested in the story. Like the rabbis of his time period, Jesus used simple word-picture stories, called parables, to help people understand who God is and what his kingdom or reign is like. Jesus used images and characters taken from everyday life to create a miniature performance or drama to illustrate his message. This was Jesus’s most common way of teaching, and his stories appealed to the young and old, poor and rich, as well as to the learned and unlearned as well. In fact, over a third of the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain parables told by Jesus.

The Parables in the Bible have profound and powerful meaning, because they are memorable and used in imaginative ways to convey the everlasting truths that God wanted us to know. Which do you remember better: a lofty analytical discourse on atonement and forgiveness, or the picture of a father running out to meet his prodigal son that had returned home? As songs are able to capture the feelings of our hearts, so do parables powerfully illustrate truth. Parables do this by putting truth in real life situations. They are full of emotion, trouble, and conflict.

A parable is a short allegory with one definite moral. Most of the parables of Jesus are found in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Only one parable (in three parts) is found in the gospel of John.

There are also Parables found in the Old Testament. There are 2 parables in Isaiah; the vineyard, Isa 5:1, and the farmer and wild grapes, Isa 28:24. The NIV Study Bible lists 40 parables in the New Testament, although five appear in different gospels in different forms. For example, in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, one servant was given 5 talents, one was given 2, and another was given only 1.

A parable is a story based upon common events and occurrences that have a deeper meaning and is derived from familiar, everyday life. The parable is, has been, and always will be the language of the wise for conveying complex and dynamic truth into something that people will want to listen to. Parables are powerful.

The parables of PTSD in this book are constructed from real life events, accounts, and situations. All images and illustrations were obtained from non-commercial public domain websites. Most of the pictures have been digitally enhanced to convey the message that war is hell, and PTSD can be the aftermath of that encounter. Thankfully, everyone who has been to war and borne the battle, does not suffer from PTSD, but everyone does undergo some lasting effects from being in that hell called war.

Chapter Two Cloudy with a Chance of Ambrosia

Ambrosia and PTSD

You usually find it in the first section of the cafeteria serving line, but with PTSD you never know where it will pop up when you least expect it. Except for some senior citizens, most people just walk by ambrosia on their way to the meat & vegetables. Ambrosia is a unique and sometimes strange fruit salad concoction made up of grapes, pineapple, several types of oranges, marshmallows, coconuts, cherries, and lots of whipped cream. Most grandmothers have a special recipe for ambrosia.

There is something uniquely odd about ambrosia that is so similar to PTSD. Let’s take a look at ambrosia and PTSD.

* Ambrosia, like PTSD, seems to have a way of choosing you to be the one to test out the recipe.

* Ambrosia generally lacks any specific form and is never the same.

* Ambrosia, like PTSD, is made up of some strange and confusing ingredients.

* Ambrosia can be overpowering at times, like PTSD.

* No way, would you want to live off a steady diet of ambrosia.

* The ingredients in ambrosia are real, but the combination seems to defy reasoning. With ambrosia, one is never sure of the outcome.

Let there be no misunderstanding here, PTSD is an ever-present malady of the heart, mind and soul of the combat veteran. It has and continues to affect millions. The number of veterans suffering from PTSD is alarmingly high, and growing on a