Foxhole Theology: The Faith That Found Me in the Fire

A poem about a soldier’s reckoning with God, war, and the quiet redemption that followed

The following is a recent poem written by our contributor John Warren—an OIF and OEF veteran, Sniper, seasoned outdoorsman, and established writer. He prefaced the poem by saying this:

"Lately, faith feels less like a choice and more like something I’m drifting toward. As a kid, I went to church because a friend brought me. It was an excuse to stay away from the house more than anything. I was never truly bought in. Still, I guess God was always there, whether I noticed or not. And looking back, when life tore pieces out of me, He left just enough so I could still feel something like love. A lot of men, myself included, have felt God’s presence in war. It felt right to write about it."

This Memorial Day, as we honor those who have given their lives to preserve our freedom, we also offer gratitude to John for his years of military service. We hope you enjoy his powerful words and his enduring wisdom.

Foxhole Theology

He never prayed before the war, not in pews, not in hospitals, not even when his family died.

God was a story for the weak and the dying.

He had fortitude and training, and that was enough.

Until the first shot cracked, and the man next to him folded like paper.

Until blood ran in the dirt and didn’t stop, until the screams got quiet not because they ended, but because he stopped hearing them.

That’s when he started to pray.

Not to be spared, he’d already accepted his number would come. Not for victory, he stopped caring who won what by the second week.

He prayed because he needed there to be someone watching. Someone counting, weighing, keeping track of the things he did when the orders came fast and the choices came faster.

He needed God to be real so there was something to redeem him. Because if no one sees, if there’s no forgiveness, no fire, no grace, then it was all just blood on his hands, and somehow that was worse.

Now he’s home.

Smiles come easier.

He sleeps beside his wife and not his brothers, plays with his kids without looking over his shoulder.

He still prays, but not out of fear, not out of desperation. He prays because he believes now, because something bigger walked with him through the fire and never left.

And that belief, not soft, not easy, but earned, holds the weight he couldn’t carry alone. It doesn’t erase the past, but it makes room for the future. And for a man who once begged for death, that’s more than enough.

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About the Author

John Warren is a veteran of both Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), a Sniper, and a lifelong student of precision behind a rifle. He has spent his adult life pursuing excellence, passing down knowledge to Snipers across all services, and helping hunters become more lethal in the mountains. Above all, he is a father to three incredible daughters. John holds an MBA from Norwich University and splits time between the backcountry, the water, and the written word. His work has appeared in Field Ethos, Peterson’s Hunting, Tom Beckbe Field Journal, Gundog, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.