March 29, 2022

THE WAR

 

Watched a movie video this evening with Denis.  It was his day off and he rented it. Never heard of it: “The War.”

 

It was about a guy – Stephen Simmons - coming home from “The War” and then a mental hospital – because of “The War” and how his life impacts the lives of his wife and two kids.

 

The only actor in the movie whom I ever heard of was Kevin Costner. He played his regular part: the caring, the understanding, the struggling person.

 

For me, the key line in the movie, and I also think the whole plot of the movie, was this: Kevin Costner says to his wife in a moment of struggle, “My dad used to say, ‘Nothing you’re going to do in this life is going to make a difference.”

 

That hit me right in my mind. I got up and found a piece of paper – a napkin – and jotted it down.

 

I want to make a difference – but I won’t change the world.  It’s a pretty big place.

 

Is that what his father meant?

 

Yet I hope I am making a difference in the lives of the people I know, love and serve.

 

Then the movie proved that our lives make a difference in the lives of those we meet.

 

In Vietnam, Kevin tried to save the life of a buddy – but he didn’t. He tried carrying him on his shoulders to the safety of a helicopter – but he had to leave him there on the ground and fly away.

 

That became his nightmare – but he also had a dream: to make a difference – and he did.

 

I’ll have to look at that movie again – on some day off.

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2022