Our Little Soldier Girl

I wept on the Eisenhower this morning
My little girl is going to war.
My tears were not for her but for the 4000 plus
Already cold in their dark graves
Ah, such loss, such loss

When my little Bex comes home this month
Saying an early farewell to us
My hugs will be stronger and longer
Because of fear for her,
Fear of losing her.
How could her mother and I go on?
How do the other moms and dads go on?

Little Becky the red haired imp of a toddler
Now carrying pistol and rifle into Afghanistan
She wants to prove that she's a good soldier too
And she is, no doubt of that

Challenges have always been food to her
Cross country, track, auto shop!
That beautiful Academy in Colorado graduated
A freshly minted Lieutenant who married
Her lover that week, another soldier, a pilot
Who will fly those gigantic Buffs as old as me
In defense of what we love and hold dearly

How strange to have been a missionary family in Pakistan
Now to see a daughter go to that alien land of war nearby
Because we need to oppose evil to its face
Not cowering, but brave, and wary
We learned to love the refugees who fled
And made their home in Pindi and Islamabad

I tried to instill in her heart that only two eternal things exist
A heavenly Father and the souls of people
What greater lesson can any earthly father give
To children who put on values as artlessly as dress up clothes

But such loss we feel already, premature
And yet real anxiety of ones who have cared for her so long
We commit our little soldier girl to you Lord
Protect her as only You can.
And please bring her back to us warm and smiling and alive.