Veterans Day

Today is a special day around our nation as we take time to remember and honor those men and women who have offered their service to our nation in our Armed Forces. Some of these individuals are old enough to know the feeling of being drafted while some of them are individuals who willfully made the decision to enlist in the Armed Forces. Either of these categories are filled with men and women who have served with distinction, valor, and sacrifice. Some sources estimate that there are approximately 23 million American veterans that are alive today. That is a large group of Americans who have served each of us and because of their service we are able to enjoy our freedom, our opportunities to succeed in life and the blessing of pursuing our dreams. I encourage you to take the opportunity to share your thanks with a Veteran either today or some time this week.

This is a special day in the life of our family. Our Dad is a Veteran of WWII. He served as an infantry soldier in the European Theater of of the war. He served under General George Patton and this division of the Army understood the price of sacrifice. As a matter of fact, all of those who have served have understood the price of sacrifice. It is difficult to honor the living without taking a moment to remember those who paid the ultimate price of sacrifice. Many of these soldiers sacrificed their life at a very early age yet we reap the benefit of their willingness to serve. Many of these soldiers returned home maimed, disfigured, and bearing the difficulty of the emotional stress that they encountered on the battlefield. I am thankful that we are awarded the opportunity to say THANK YOU in this small way. We must let our soldiers as well as the families of these soldiers know that they are appreciated, admired, respected and remembered. Hopefully we are realizing that we need to treat these individuals as the true heroes our nation rather than sports figures, political leaders, actors & actresses, etc. I am able to set at this desk and type these words because of individuals who chose to serve others and not just serve their selfish desires.

On a personal note, I spoke with my Dad prior to writing this blog post. He is 88 years old. He participated in two celebrations on Monday and he was headed to another parade/celebration this morning. He has served as a volunteer Chaplain with the Disabled American Veteran (DAV). He has served as an Honor Guard for soldiers who either died on the battlefield or died later after their military career was completed. We have two (2) WWII veterans connected with our local congregation; both of these men are in their 90's. I share these final thoughts to remind you that many in this group of Veterans are being promoted to their eternal reward on a daily basis. Our local congregation is blessed to have other Veterans who have served in Korea, Vietnam, the first Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other troubled spots of the world. We need to honor our heritage and remember each individual who has served our nation either in war time or what we refer to as "peace time." They are truly worthy of our respect and appreciation. 

Take a moment today and say a prayer for our Veterans and their families. Take a moment today and say a prayer for those individuals and their families who are presently serving today. Take a moment and say a prayer for those families who have laid their Veteran to rest at some time in their lives. Each of these groups deserve our prayerful support!!