My Mule
When he came out of the front lines for a brief rest, Richard Ternyey was recruited as a muleskinner. Mules had been found an effective way to move supplies in the rugged Italian mountains, usually at night. Ternyey soon met his mule, Jake. He and Jake had to deliver mortar ammunition to the front lines on a night so dark, “ You couldn’t see the hand in front of your face. ”234 After several hours of hard climbing they reached the forward dump and began unloading.
Suddenly German artillery shells started landing all around them, and everyone scattered in panic looking for holes or ruts to get away from the shrapnel. Ternyey described what happened then:
I started frantically searching in the darkness like a blind man for my mule. Everything was in turmoil, a lot of men screaming and yelling. I had no idea where I was. Finally, I found Jake. I didn’t have any idea which way to go to my base for fear that I may go the wrong way and be captured by the enemy. For some reason, I can’t explain, I thought maybe Jake will have the instinct of finding his way home. So I mounted him, gently patted him on the rump, and he took off. I was scared stiff and prayed that God Almighty will direct this mule back to home base. I finally reached my base safe and sound.235
There are times when we have to give up control. This soldier had little choice but to rely on his mule’s instinct. As we face our daily problems, however, we usually do have a choice, and most of us go to great lengths to keep control in our own hands. We are programmed early to “be responsible” and to take care of our own problems. These are admirable traits, but when taken too far interfere with a relationship to God. Our heavenly Father waits for us to come to him. We miss an opportunity when we fail to share our burdens. When we let him take control in the midst of our confusion or uncertainty, we are in the sure hands that will always get us back to “home base.”
There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.
—Deuteronomy 1:31