…Dateline: Sunday, October 7, 2001…

…9:30 a.m. EDT: “The leader of the Northern Alliance says he believes the U.S.-led attack will begin “very soon…”

…11:30 a.m. EDT: “Israel is informed about the upcoming attack”

…12:30 p.m. EDT: “the United States, supported by Britain, begins its attack on Afghanistan, launching bombs and cruise missiles against Taliban military and communications facilities and suspected terrorist training camps…”  (http://knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/2001_U.S._Attack_on_Afghanistan/Timeline_October_2001/)

Around the exact same time that the United States began their attack within Afghanistan, a gunman in a veteran’s hospital in Texas shot three men, killing the first one instantly – my brother. He then turned to shoot another man in the back – he died two months later.  The third man was shot in the face – he survived.

My brother had been in the hospital with pneumonia and was getting ready to be released.  Sometimes the VA hospital will keep a patient for a while to do a full work up on them.  My brother had been there for several weeks and had just sat down for lunch in the cafeteria.  Before he was shot, he was working on a puzzle with his hospital roommate.  It was a rather large puzzle of the capital of Germany.  Michael once served in Germany while in the army.  I could see why he would have chosen that particular puzzle.  The day after his shooting, several of his friends were so distraught about his death that in honor and memory of Michael they decided to finish putting the puzzle together.  I heard that they worked all that night to finish it. Upon placing the last few pieces in place, they realized that there was a piece of the puzzle missing.

I first heard the news about the puzzle while speaking with another brother on the phone.  We cried together as I said, “Wow, that piece could symbolize Michael!”  It was during that conversation that the Lord reminded me of something.  That past Labor Day weekend, our church made a float for the parade. The theme that year was, “Puzzled by Life? . . . Jesus, the Missing Piece.”

I was reminded that in the emptiness of our missing pieces, Jesus fills that void.  I was reminded that somehow in the midst of our lives that tend to fall apart, He comes in and holds us together; that even with missing pieces, we somehow stay formed and shaped. Though I felt every inch of my being had shattered into a million pieces, God was going to be the glue that would somehow hold me together.

The V.A. Hospital gave a memorial service for Michael a week after his service in Bastrop.  There, the people that had grown so fond of him, while he was at the Hospital, gave Mom and Dad that puzzle – matted and framed.  The piece that was missing happened to be a piece located in the sky.  They placed a picture of Michael in that empty space.  Mother said it was beautiful.  When I was finally able to return home again, I gleamed upon Michael’s face in the sky and was reminded that Jesus really does take care of the missing pieces.

–Tina Samples

You can read more of Tina’s “Journey Moments” at www.tinasamples.blogspot.com

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