Chance has a rough upbringing ...and does not have good examples to help guide his life. Discontentment and anger are not only familiar guides, they disguise all of life to be this way ...and the rule becomes not to trust anyone.

When someone tells Chance about God, he doesn't trust them ...and he certainly wasn't going to trust God.  How could he trust a supposedly loving God, who permits a life where no love is evident?

Chance gets in trouble, and trouble seems to be more prolific than rats ...reproducing and multiplying at an unbelievable rate.  And it seems to follow him everywhere ...as if he were the Pied Piper.

Chance had not been yet convicted of any great crime, so he is given a bit of advice from a person at Protective Services ...along with a tour of one of the prisons.

Chance knew he was not far from having to serve out some time for criminal behavior ...so he took the one option provided for him, to serve instead in the military. Protective Services also said there was one thing in his file that they had just found, that someone had evidently neglected to give to him.  It looked like a diary. 

Chance did not appear interested ...and just put it in his back pocket. But, it remained in his possession when he entered the military.

Chance did not find the military much different than he did the rest of life. He didn't understand the purpose of the war ...and all he could gather was that the enemy was much like he was ---discontent and angry.

This anger and confusion did not do well to assist Chance into battle. He felt that the other side didn't appear to care if they died or not, and he kind of felt he agreed with that sort of thinking.  And Chance's choices in battle reflected this attitude ...and not only jeopardized his own life, but also the lives of others.

Chance made one of those unwise choices, and he got badly injured. He would have died if not for the heroics of another soldier who lost his life in saving Chance's.

Chance had seen how the other soldier saved his life.  He didn't understand it ...and he honestly didn't know if he preferred it, as he looked down at his missing leg.  

He could move his other leg around well enough, but he felt no motivation to do so ...though the nurses told him he needed to exercise it, or the bed sores may seem even more intolerable than his missing leg.  Just as he was shrugging off that thought, he had got a pain on that side, and reached back to reposition himself ...and he pulled that little diary from his pocket.

He had never read it, and had mostly forgot he had it ...but for some reason he had always kept it in the back pocket of whatever he was wearing.

Chance opens it up, and is surprised to see very little is written in it. 

It reads:

"To Chance, from your mom ...Your daddy went off to war, not to fight, but to defend what we believe in.  You were not born yet, but before your dad left to serve, he asked that I tell you this: 'Don't forget to tell our child each day that I love 'em.  More often than that, tell 'em that you love 'em ...and especially don't forget to tell 'em that Jesus loves 'em.'  So, Chance ...your dad did not know what your future would be like, but he thought there'd be a chance he'd not ever see you ...that's the nature of the casualties of war. It may be difficult to grasp all this, but he knew if he never made it back home he'd still be able to see you some day if you could grasp the truth that Jesus loves you, and it is not by chance that He died for us ...to save our lives."

Chance looks down to where his leg is missing, and recalls how that other soldier was blown to bits to save his life.  He realizes at that moment that his leg is not the critical thing he is missing, but the understanding of the love that compelled that soldier to die for him ...and even more so, the love of Jesus that he feels he's about to begin to understand.

(Sometimes it makes all the difference when the love of those we feel should love us is revealed. If we can trust that love, we can more easily begin to understand love that is often lacking in other places.  Yet, if it is lacking in seemingly all areas that we know of ...there are still areas that we don't know of. Those moments when we are faced with kindnesses we don't understand ...we can reject them, or accept them.  If looked at with a slightly different perspective than we may be used to seeing, it can make a difference.  If we don't reject the love God has for us, in having sent His own Son, Jesus, to give His life ...it will make all the difference.  Yes, we can all accept the fact that we are indeed loved.)