Do What You Can
Capt. Edwin Sayre was a company commander with the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. As night fell on July 9, 1943, his unit boarded C-47 transports in Tunisia for the airborne assault of Sicily. His flight of aircraft drifted off course and had to make a second run for the drop zone, delaying their arrival. Instead of a moonlit jump the paratroopers faced total darkness. High winds then wrought havoc, scattering them over a wide area. Unable to see the hand in front of his face, Sayre was able to collect only a handful of his men by dawn.
Shortly after daylight, Sayre and his men were taken under fire by an enemy machine gun. Moving forward, they found not one machine gun but a series of pillboxes. This was not the primary objective, but General Gavin had told the paratroopers, “ If you land somewhere and don’t know where you are, just find the nearest enemy and attack.”216
Well, here was Sayre’s nearest enemy. He was able to contact some of his unit by radio, and, by firing a series of shots, gave them a signal to find him. He gradually assembled enough men and weapons to organize an assault of the enemy emplacements. In close fighting with small arms and grenades they eliminated the pillboxes and captured about fifty prisoners.
General Gavin’s instruction to his paratroopers is often the kind of direction that is appropriate for us as Christians. As we try to do the right thing in our service to God’s kingdom, we sometimes face uncertainty or lack a clear direction. At such times, we simply have to do what we can do. Even if a bigger mission is unclear, we can lovingly tend to the everyday tasks that present themselves in our families and churches. A child or a friend with a problem is an opportunity for each of us to do God’s work on a personal level, possibly the most important level of all.
His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
—Matthew 25:23