Faith of a Child - Larkin Spivey

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:2-4

Norman English was seven years old in August of 1940 and lived adjacent to a Royal Air Force base. Bombs fell from German aircraft on and around the base often as the anti-aircraft guns returned fire. To a child it was very exciting.

We used to sit on the fence for a grandstand view of the action! Until the adults came on the scene and sent us down to the shelter. I remember vividly, the vapor trails in the sky and watching dogfights in the sunny clear skies during the Battle of Britain. During the war living where we did, we were bombed, parachute land mined, aerial torpedoed, doodle bugged, and finally V2 rockets. Some of my school chums and their parents were killed.

One aircraft machine gunned our road then dropped a bomb which blew up the gas main, and destroyed Banfields, the greengrocers on the corner, and smash(ed) the water main—with the huge fire of the gas main and the water filling both sides of the road and flooding the gutters.

It was not long after the all-clear was sounded that all the children in the road were paddling along the gutters and towing their toy boats behind them! All this within 20 minutes or so of being bombed and machine gunned.

God bless the little children. I am sure that the parents of these were gratified to see them acting their age even under the direst of circumstances. Jesus also admired the openness and honesty of children, and, in fact, stated that only those like children would be able to enter his kingdom. By this he meant that we all should cultivate a child-like wonder at the world and ability to accept simple truths. Jesus’ message is the ultimate in simplicity. Most children understand it immediately. We can’t work our way to God.

(Note: The quote in this story is from: Norman English, "A Child in the Battle of Britain," www.bbc.co.uk.)

Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/.

Larkin is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, SC, and is actively involved in the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association. He has appeared on numerous nationwide radio and television programs and speaks frequently to civic, veteran, and church groups. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/

A Story from World War II (about understanding) - Larkin Spivey

"The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out." Proverbs 20:5

George Graves was a corporal with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment fighting in the hills of Italy. He wrote a lengthy letter to his father expressing a few rather negative feelings about the Italians’ fear and hatred of the Germans. He saw some civilians spitting on German prisoners and others actually threatening them with bodily harm. Even though he was fighting the same enemy, he did not understand this vindictiveness. In the same letter, however, he empathized with what many of these same civilians had to endure:

“We have air raids here about every night, and I have been in those stuffy air raid shelters with crying women and children kneeling down and praying and wondering how our folks back at home would take this if they had to endure it. I am thankful that so far they haven’t had to.”

If you have ever wondered why Europeans might be so different from Americans, you might consider the fact that generations from practically every country in Europe have spent time in bomb shelters. I don’t know how this experience translates into social and political viewpoints later or even if this part of the past is relevant today. However, it is clearly a historical experience that Americans do not share.

On a personal level, differences in past experience also make it difficult for people to understand each other. Like most married couples, my wife and I have gone through a long process of learning about our respective family histories. We both now have an appreciation of each other’s painful experiences in the past that, at times, still dictate our attitudes and reactions as adults.

This knowledge has enabled us to handle conflict without hurting each other. On any level, the more you understand someone else’s past, the better chance you’ll have of building a meaningful relationship.

Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II. Visit Larkin at www.larkinspivey.com .

Bombed Out - Larkin Spivey

“The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” - Proverbs 20:5

George Graves was a corporal with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment fighting in the hills of Italy. He wrote a lengthy letter to his father expressing a few rather negative feelings about the Italians’ fear and hatred of the Germans. He saw some civilians spitting on German prisoners and others actually threatening them with bodily harm. Even though he was fighting the same enemy, he did not understand this vindictiveness. In the same letter, however, he empathized with what many of these same civilians had to endure:

We have air raids here about every night, and I have been in those stuffy air raid shelters with crying women and children kneeling down and praying and wondering how our folks back at home would take this if they had to endure it. I am thankful that so far they haven’t had to.

If you have ever wondered why Europeans might be so different from Americans, you might consider the fact that generations from practically every country in Europe have spent time in bomb shelters. I don’t know how this experience translates into social and political viewpoints later or even if this part of the past is relevant today. However, it is clearly an historical experience that Americans do not share.

On the personal level, differences in past experience also make it difficult for people to understand each other. Like most married couples, my wife and I have gone through a long process of learning about our respective family histories. We both now have an appreciation of each other’s painful experiences in the past that at times still dictate our attitudes and reactions as adults. This knowledge has enabled us to handle conflict without hurting each other. On any level, the more you understand someone else’s past experience, the better chance you’ll have of building a meaningful relationship.


Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/.

Larkin is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, SC, and is actively involved in the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association. He has appeared on numerous nationwide radio and television programs and speaks frequently to civic, veteran, and church groups. Visit Larkin at http://www.larkinspivey.com/

Greatest Cathedrals - Lt. Col. Larkin Spivey

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23

Chaplains serving in combat zones during World War II seldom saw the inside of church buildings. A lot of ingenuity was required to get their special work done. One combat chaplain described his places of worship:

During these months I held services in every conceivable location—on the open deck, in the men’s mess hall, aboard ship, on the cargo hatch of a sunken Liberty ship, aboard a floating pier, ashore, in the open, in the rain, and under tarpaulined shelter…These services were in many ways far more real than those held in the greatest cathedrals.

During my military career I marched in countless ceremonies. The ultimate in pageantry was an evening parade under spotlights on the White House lawn. I also vividly recall another parade of the same military format, but devoid of pageantry. On Okinawa, where my Marine ancestors fought during World War II, I marched in a combat review with other Marines about to deploy for combat. This parade featured helmets, packs, weapons, and camouflage. There was no band and no audience, and it was still one of my most moving experiences.

The common denominator of these stories is found in the attitude of the participants. When soldiers or saints face the urgency of their mission and realize their vulnerability, their ceremonies become intensely meaningful. At the same time, the outward form loses significance. When we know what we have to do, and we realize that the capacity to do it can only come from God, worship becomes urgent and real. This is the attitude we need every time we come before his altar. It makes no difference whether that altar is in a tent or a cathedral.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (John 4:23)

Larkin Spivey is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, a retired Marine Corps officer, and former military professor at The Citadel. He became a Christian at age 53 and from his conversion came an intense curiosity about God’s providential hand and the power of faith during war. His first books include God in the Trenches and Miracles of the American Revolution. His latest release, Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II, is a 365 day devotional combining individual stories, Scripture, and historical overviews of key campaigns of World War II.

Larkin is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, SC, and is actively involved in the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association. He has appeared on numerous nationwide radio and television programs and speaks frequently to civic, veteran, and church groups.