In some instances I have known a soldier's life of discipline and hardship to be used of the Lord for blessing to hardened souls and for God's glory. Such was the case with young Dan who here tells his own story: "When I was 12 years old my father died, and I was left with my mother. Seeking relief from the gloom of sorrow, I got into wild company and fell prey to bad habits. In fact, very early in life I began to drink. This last habit grew so strong upon me that by age 18 I was a confirmed drunkard and a slave to Satan. My life of debauchery distressed and grieved my mother, and I could see the lines of age increasing on her face. I knew I was the cause of all her anxiety, so I made resolution after resolution to turn over a new leaf. But to no avail.
"Shortly after my 18th birthday, I bade my mother good-by, saying: 'I must have my fling, Mother. I'll be all right. Don't worry.' Then it was that I enlisted.
"How those words of farewell, 'I must have my fling,' always seemed to follow me! They became my slogan and during the first five years of my Army life I yielded to all sorts of temptations which beset the path of the soldier.
"Then my company was on detachment at an island, where we had to cross to the mainland by steam launch. I soon found life rather dull, and drank more heavily than before. Returning to camp one night, I fell between the launch and the pier. My chum rescued me. Sudden immersion in the cold water sobered me, and I realized that had I been drowned then I would have been eternally lost. I could not get rid of this frightening thought, so I sought to drown it in drink. This I found to be impossible, as 'the morning after' always brought remorse.
"In desperation I went to the Soldier's home and to a gospel meeting there. The preacher gave out the text, 'My Spirit shall not always strive with man.' Gen. 6:33And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3). I felt he was talking to me all the time, and conviction of sin took hold of me. I saw my awful past, and thanked God I had a praying mother.
"For weeks I was like this. One night as I walked into my barrack room, four of my comrades were singing, 'Thou would'st be saved, why not tonight?' I felt that I had reached my last chance. Walking straight to my cot I knelt down and prayed: 'Oh God, save me. I am helpless and hopeless. Please save me, for I am lost.'
"There, on my knees before God, a quiet joy and peace which I had never known before came into my heart. I had asked God to save me, and I believed He had done it for Jesus' sake.
"From that hour I have sought to please Him in all my ways, and can honestly say that He has held me fast.”