How I learned a sense of humor in basic training

For the month of April the Honeymoonlife808 podcast on Youtube is focusing on health.

Episode #17 focused on physical health and the importance of staying fit for yourself and your spouse as a God honoring practice. This week we will dive into Mental health.

We are not counselors and I would invite you to seek professional help should these practices prove insufficient. Sometimes, we all need a little help. (Matthew 27:32)

As a young 18 year old airman in Basic Training, San Antonio, Texas in mid August, I had met my first great mental challenge. Training Instructors, TIs, yelling constantly, threats of physical and leisure punishments, middle of the night awakenings to test reactions, limited time to eat, shower and breathe. I had not built up a toughness to these types of physical and emotional pressures. But alas, I had made a very good friend on the first day of BMTS (Basic Military Training School) and we came up with a strategy that not only got me through this season but has remained a habit to this day. BMTS Monopoly (trademark Matel). We realized that this process was meant to tear us down as individuals, in order for us to become useful GIs (Government Issue) that the United States Air Force needed us to be. Even though it was a matter of life and death, “how you train is how you fight”, it was a game; a mental struggle.

The game went like this, if something good happened you rolled a double and purchased your base liberty pass. If something bad happened, which was 90% of the time, you drew a “go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.” This posture helped ease the gravity of the moment and I quickly began to laugh at even the stressful events like early morning revelry.

One of the surest ways to maintain a healthy mental state is to realize how little control we have over most events; and to lean into the promises of God, being a loving Father who longs to bless us (James 1:7). While many events in this life are a matter of life and death, living too seriously doesn’t make the journey any easier.

Happy Honeymooning!

Proverbs 17:2 A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.