Joy Farrington comments on a recent meeting with the American military

Joy Attmore

Recently I was traveling through the States on my way back to England from Ecuador, when I found myself in Atlanta airport with a couple of hours to kill. After trying rather unsuccessfully to connect to the airport's Wi-Fi, I went in search of a good cup of tea. This mission also proved to be quite hard to fulfil and ended in me settling for a chai latte, not quite what I was after, but somewhat redemptive!

As I stood waiting to be served, the guy in front of me turned around and engaged me in conversation. He was young - probably just into his twenties and his eyes showed a desperate need for a good night's sleep, but his engaging smile revealed an even greater need to connect with people. Aside from these quick facial readings, the most noticeable thing about him was the fact that he was in the military, dressed head to toe in uniform.

I haven't spent a lot of time with men and women in the forces and, to be honest, can find their uniformed appearance to be a little intimidating, so it took me a good 30 seconds to adjust to being a 'normal' human being again as I entered into a conversation about hot beverages with my new military friend. His order complete, he turned to leave with hands full of hot coffee cups before turning back to face me and invited me to join him and his friends whilst they all waited to be picked up. I hesitated for a split second, aware that I didn't want to give him the wrong impression, before agreeing and following him across the waiting lounge.

Within minutes of meeting, I found myself surrounded by men and women from the military who had all returned home for a brief visit before being deployed back to Afghanistan. After quickly setting the record straight that I hadn't come over to wait with them because I was their latest recruit, we engaged in conversation and the questions began coming my way as to what a young British woman was doing hanging out in Atlanta airport. I was a little embarrassed to be on the receiving end of such attention, particularly as I was very aware of the fact that I hadn't really slept in 24 hours due to traveling and just a few hours previously had been that emotional woman at the departure gate saying goodbye to her fiancé. Regardless of my emotions, however, I had a very interested audience.

Bearing in mind that the group of people with whom I was now sitting drinking tea and coffee with were daily saying yes to giving their all in defence of their country, it was a little overwhelming when they then stood to shake my hand and honour me for working with vulnerable women. I had told them about the work that I had recently been doing in Ecuador and my plan to continue working with those who have been sexually exploited. The most senior of the men among them then stood and thanked me for the work that I was doing.

Wait. What?! Surely I should be the one thanking them. These are the guys who get applauded as they enter a room and here they are honouring me. I was truly humbled. It was an encounter that left quite an impression on me. There is no way that I could do what these guys have signed up to do, to be on the frontline for their country, giving their all even if it means their life. That's a terrifying thought to me! On the other hand, I realised that they were admitting to the fact that they couldn't do what I was doing either; maybe the thought of going to love on those caught in the sex industry terrified them.

It can be so easy to look across at another and quickly place a label on them of being 'worthier than' or 'less worthy' than ourselves simply due to the job role that we see them in. We can be intimated by what someone else can do, seemingly with such ease, because it seems such a foreign or scary concept to ourselves. However just maybe it is possible that we need this diversity in order to achieve excellence in the roles that we have been given and instead of being intimated by or jealous of others, we learn to honour and applaud those who do the work that we cannot or are not called to do.

As I bade farewell to my newly gained military acquaintances, I was honestly left feeling somewhat uncomfortable until I took the time to receive what had been given to me; the gift of honour. May we be people who are quick to bless those whom we encounter with honour, rather than falling into the trap of wishing we were something other than the unique beings we were created to be.