Episode 42 :: Jeff Morris :: Surviving Combat and the Scars Left Behind

Guest Graphics_Jeff_Morris_Simply_Stories_Podcast.png

Captain Jeff Morris is a veteran of the U.S. Army, an author and speaker on leadership, but also a family man, who is crazy about his wife and 4 kids. You'll hear some fun stories of his minivan driving pandemic adventures, but you'll also hear his heartbreaking, and raw story of loss and wrestling with God from his experiences during his two tours in Iraq.

Captain Jeff Morris is a veteran of the U.S. Army, an author and speaker on leadership, but also a family man, who is crazy about his wife and 4 kids. You’ll hear some fun stories of his minivan driving pandemic adventures, but you’ll also hear his heartbreaking, and raw story of loss and wrestling with God from his experiences during his two tours in Iraq. Jeff’s unit lost 6 men in 6 days, plus 2 more in later incidents, for a total of 8 losses under his command in an incredibly short period of time.

As we are experiencing in this season of time, life can change in a moment and often in a brutal way, and it can give birth to dark seasons. Jeff shares how the darkness of PTSD can slowly creep up on you until you can’t see the light anymore, but he also shares a word of encouragement for all of us walking forward into an unknown life and the life we’ve known before will never be the same, and the power of the choices we can make as we go.

Captain Morris does not hold back as he shares his experiences from his two tours in the Middle East so portions of this episode may be a little intense for young ears, but you know your people. I just want to be sure and give the heads up. His story and telling the stories of his men matters so much because their lives mattered. However, even though this story is hard, as many of our stories are hard, that does not mean that healing and joy are impossible. While we recorded this a few weeks ago, the message is timeless. I hope it meets you where you are today.

In honor of the Legion 8:

Terry Prater

Blake Harris

Emerson Brand

Jimmy Arnold

Ryan Green

Nicholas Lightner

Jimmy Coon

Caleb Christopher

Heavenly Father, we lift up these names and these families and we ask that You would be close to the brokenhearted. We ask that You would be near as we wrestle with our present broken reality and would you remind us that this is not how the story ends? In Christ, we are more than conquerors and death and tyranny does not get the final say. As this country works through its continued efforts to learn about what freedom is and what it is not, would you give us wisdom? Would you raise up leaders, and would you bring stories of those who have gone before us to the surface and use them to teach us? We are a broken people, but we are not a hopeless people. You bring beauty from the ashes. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and remind us that every life and every story matters to You. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

References:

-Legion Rising: Surviving Combat and the Scars it Left Behind - for the record, this is not a Christian publication. It’s raw and real and his faith is part of his story, but consider this your carnage and language warning ;)

-Purple Heart

-Green Berets

-Legion 8

-EFP vs. IED :: explosively formed penetrator vs. improvised explosive device

-PTSD

-Ways to find a therapist no matter where you live in the U.S. and there’s an option to limit your search for the military.

Scripture References:

-John 20:29- Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed

-Jeremiah 29:11// Revelation 21:4- God has plans for hope and your future, not to harm you // This is not how the story ends

-Daniel 3:18- God is still good

-John 10:10- Jesus came so we would have life to the full

-Isaiah 53:3- Jesus was a man of sorrows