Because its worth it.

Somalia, October 4th, 1993. The latter half of the battle of Mogadishu was coming to a close. The final step of the mission was extraction. A group of American Army Rangers and Delta force soldiers made their way back to the extraction point. A mission that was supposed to be simple, had gone completely sideways, resulting in helicopter crashes and the loss of several American soldiers. The original mission was a smash and grab on two lieutenants of the war lord, Mohamad Farrah Haidid. No one had expected the resistance and complication of communication that the American forces would face.

On the last leg of the extraction route the two units were supposed to receive cover from a hum-v unit in the area, but when the hum-vs failed to understand the orders the unit was left with one impossible decision. They would run the mile, with no cover.

Wounded, sleep deprived, dehydrated and low on ammunition, the soldiers set off. They ran, under enemy fire for the entire mile. When all hope seemed lost, they rounded a corner and found the Hum-v unit. They survived.

That run has gone down in military history and is now named the Mogadishu mile in their honor. The movie black hawk down does a semi accurate depiction of the events that took place on that October day. I dont know if this next part really happened or if it is just a work of Hollywood magic. At the end of the movie the Ranger unit and Deltas finally make it back to the base, after almost 72 hours of fighting, loss and incredible danger. After surviving the Mogadishu mile the ranger unit lays on the ground thanking God for the incredible miracle they had received.

"Hoot" one of the Delta's, is at a small table loading up magazines and grabbing grenades as he eats a plate of food. The Ranger asks the sane question, "You're going back in?" disbelief evident in his voice. They had just reached safety, just been through a miracle, a near miss that would have rattled even the most battle tested men and instead of taking a break, asking for a vacation, or even laying down to sleep this Delta just quietly starts refilling magazines and getting ready to go back in.

I'll never forget the line in the movie... "There are still men out there.". The line almost shakes me to my core. How many of us are living in the aftermath of our last storm? How many of us are kissing the ground when we should be loading magazines? How many of us are wallowing in the grace God has extended to us while others are still out there, still wounded, still missing... How many will we let go before we realize that it's time to get back out there? It's time to enter back into the bullets, get back into danger, and help someone else.

"You are not your own for you were bought with a high price, therefor honor God with your bodies" 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20