CityView Magazine

12 | November/December 2016 faith On the wall by my desk I have a small card with the words of Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. As an Albanian-Indian Roman Catho- lic nun and missionary, she spent her whole life serving the poorest of the poor. She said once, "Not all of us can do great things. But we all can do small things with great love." I read those words every day. They serve as a re- minder of what I am called to do. Small Things with Great Love BY CHAPLAIN (CAPTAIN) LUKASZ J. WILLENBERG T he holidays can be especially stressful, whether a soldier is at home or deployed. As we are about to assume Global Response Force responsibili- ties as a Brigade, our training schedule is full. On top of all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, our mission contin- ues. Sometimes we forget to reflect, to re- focus and to enjoy quality time with our loved ones. Especially around this time of the year as we approach the Holiday season with anksgiving and Christmas, I feel my role is to remind my paratroopers and their families what this season is all about. As a chaplain, I love what I do. Every as- pect of my job is both challenging and ex- tremely gratifying. I hear it almost every day: "Father/Chaplain, what do I do?" Every situation is different and unique, and I am humbled to be able to be there for my para- troopers and families as their chaplain, but, I find the ministry to the married paratroop- ers of my unit and their families unique and extremely important. About 60% of my par- atroopers consist of married service mem- bers, a majority of them living on Fort Bragg and others in the Fayetteville area. It is a beautiful, fulfilling and selfless life path to serve in the armed forces, but it is definitely not an easy one. Frequent moves, separations due to deployments or training missions, dangers associated with war and unpredictable schedules are some of the challenges military families cope with and need to learn to embrace. ere are great things about military life, but there are defi- nite hardships. It is important to recognize the emotional and spiritual toll this lifestyle has on a service member and his or her fam- ily and build up some barriers to protect against its negative impact. Military families tend to have unique needs and frequently rely on their chap- lain and multiple army agencies to help keep them united. Just as a battery needs recharging or a car needs an oil change, so does a person and so does the family. As a chaplain, I have found that families assigned to my unit have benefited from all the different programs we offer. Programs like USO-founded Oxygen for relationships, Chief of Chaplain Strong Bonds retreats, our monthly Date Nights and being part of a church community can keep the family foundation strong during difficult times. Each of us needs to know where we've been in order to know where we're going. is holiday season provides a great oppor- tunity for all of us to stop and be reminded of a simple practice I introduced to couples from my unit during a recent Date Night I hosted at Olive Garden. During this beautiful season, stop for a moment and reflect. Remember this year. Perhaps this year you got married, had a child, started a new job, received a promo- tion, completed an academic degree or level of Professional Military Education. ese are just a few examples of things to be cel- ebrated. At the same time, perhaps you ex- perienced some difficulties over the year in the form of loss: the death of a friend or a family member, loss of personal possessions or property during the recent storms and floods, unexpected tasking or a strained or failed relationship. e truth is that many of us have experienced both joy and sorrow over the past year. Chaplain (Captain) Lukasz J. Willenberg is a U.S. Army chaplain at Fort Bragg.

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