I was so short I could sit on the edge of a dime and dangle my feet. At least that’s what I would tell my friends as I drew closer to leaving Germany after nearly 5 years in Europe.

It’s a common military practice to countdown. When a month away from leaving, I would also say I had 29 days and a wake-up left in my tour.

During my posting to the Kuwaiti desert, I [SF1] knew exactly how many days were left in my year long experience.

I was so thankful when my day for travel arrived so I could move towards my next military assignment in Air Force Recruiting Service. Counting down is a subtle way of saying, “Get me out of here.”

I found the military culture made me restless as I was always looking my next opportunity in a career spanning 11 assignments over 25 years.

However, some military members keep a low profile hoping to avoid having to move. They are known as ‘homesteaders. An Air Force friend of mine spent approximately 14 years in San Antonio.

He then pulled a remote assignment to Korea for a year and then went back to San Antonio to serve another 5 years until his 20-year retirement. The man had two locations in 20 years.

They say the best two bases to be stationed at are the one you just left or the one you are headed towards. Somehow, many of us tended to grumble about the current duty station while mentioning we couldn’t wait until the next assignment.

Similarly, I hear Christians talk of a longing to leave this life in order to go to heaven. While even the Apostle Paul said he wished to be in the next phase of life, Paul also taught us that we are currently seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Wanting to escape is an understandable sentiment to have, especially when considering the evil in this world.

In 2009, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich applied to be on the program “I Am a Celebrity; Get Me Out of Here.”

It was a survival-type program where a person could shout out the phrase as their resignation statement and they would be immediately removed from the scenario. The governor had legal problems not allowing him to be in the country in which it was filmed.

This led to his incarceration in the federal prison in Denver. H

owever, his wife Patti appeared on the show and stayed until she was voted out.

As I recall, she never yelled out the sentence to gain a quick exit, but she was voted off of the show by her fellow contestants.

Theologian Francis Schaefer famously asked, “How then should we live?”

The Bible certainly gives us an expectation of heaven. But it also gives vast advice on how to engage with our fellow man.

One classic passage urges us to feed the orphans and care for the widows.

We can get discouraged by watching the incessant news coverage of a world in trouble.

However, when hearing of some violent crime that has occurred, I often wonder if in the history of the assailant if someone missed an opportunity to share the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Instead of having a “I’m a Christian, get me out of here” mentality, maybe we should be looking for opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ with on a daily basis.

Depending on your theology, we may be sitting on dime but let’s make every minute count.

Tony “T-Bar” Barnes is a 28-year veteran of the Marine Corps and Air Force. He is also retired from the Department of Veteran Affairs and can be reached at tbarnugget@yahoo.com