To those who have served…
I open the packed refrigerator and complain because there’s nothing to eat. My family’s three cars have a little too much patina. There are 150 channels to choose from, and yet there’s nothing good on TV tonight. I go to bed and my pillow is a little too lumpy.
I suffer from too much. A byproduct from a generation that sacrifice was a way of life and by it, allowed us to live in prosperity. Abundance brings with it a virus called ingratitude, and I have suffered from bouts of this affliction as well. How can you relate to people and a lifestyle that you have never experienced? Every time period has had its givers and takers, and I would venture to guess that this generation has more takers than givers. We are seeing the death of an era. The WWII generation is in its final days and when they’re gone, we’ll have lost the wisdom that goes with them.
I have not served in the military, nor have I made a sacrifice for my country. I am a person who has lived in the aura of the blood that was shed so that we’d be able to live in freedom. The men and women who’ve given up their down pillows and warm beds for sleepless nights, uncertainty, and frazzled nerves are the true heroes that we are to admire.
Today, we have a new group of soldiers that are willing to put their lives on the line to hold back 
the evil that roams the earth. We have too many reasons to remain complacent, but they do it. To voluntarily give up the lap of luxury, to serve is truly remarkable. I thank God for all of those who have sworn this oath to protect this country:
I, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
I cannot adequately express my gratitude to all those who have sacrificed for this country. I am awed and envious. As best as I try to relate, I am not in the family of soldiers. My perspective is that of an outsider. But, you have given all of us a gift. A gift of liberty and freedom. Some may squander it, and some may relish it. At times, I live close to both of these truths.
Even though saluting is reserved to those within the “family”, I stand with you and I salute you. I am grateful beyond words. From one of us to all of you… thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving! . . . wait, is it over?
Did you have a Happy Thanksgiving? I sure did. Now onto Christmas! Wait a minute… the Christmas season started right after Halloween, right? Christmas music has been playing on the radio, and the stores have been decorated for a few weeks now. It seems like this pesky little holiday called Thanksgiving gets wedged into the mix and then gets used as an accelerant for Christmas called, “Black Friday”.
I am certainly not against Christmas. It is probably my favorite time of year. What I don’t like is that it seems like we allow everyone else call the shots when we are celebrating these holidays. Why does Halloween and Christmas garner so much attention and Thanksgiving comes and goes in a puff of smoke? We even actually get two days off for Thanksgiving—and none for Halloween. I guess we need one of those days to celebrate Thanksgiving and the other to start shopping for Christmas. We can’t even slow down long enough to let the dust settle.
The hijacking of these holidays serves one major purpose—to sell more stuff! The stores, TV stations, and advertisers start earlier and earlier to sell more and more. They couldn’t care less about what these holidays are really about. Family, friends, God, and country? Who needs it… Now let’s get selling! Thanksgiving pays the highest price, because we don’t buy anything for it. It is a time to stop, pause, reflect, and give thanks for all that we have in America.
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside each year for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. We live in the best country in the world. We are the freest. We are the most prosperous. We are the most generous. We are truly a blessed nation. I feel very fortunate to call America my home. I am very grateful. Along with that, I have an awesome family and great friends. I am able to freely worship and exercise my Christian faith. I am not persecuted for my beliefs and can travel freely anywhere I choose. No other country in the world, besides Canada, celebrates Thanksgiving. That should tell you something.
So here is what I am doing. I am opting out of the hustle and bustle of this 30-second sound bite “holiday”. The retailers don’t have anything to gain by droning on about Thanksgiving, but we all do. I am going to take these few precious days to slow down and let the Thanksgiving aura persist before it gets snuffed out by the oncoming freight train of the Christmas season. I will then prepare for Christmas in its due season, because right on its heels is Valentine’s Day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
A Day of Honor
I am no soldier.
I have not served our country.
I have not made that type of sacrifice for a cause.
I am a creature of comfort
I too easily serve my own flesh.
I live in the luxury of their blood.
And as I sit here tonight and breathe in the sweet smell of spring, I am humbled by what they have done for me. At peace in my own yard, in perfect weather. I purpose to not take what we have for granted. This is an awesome country. We are free. We are prosperous. We have unlimited potential.
I put into remembrance the price that was paid for me to live a life so grand. 675,000 of them. Many more have continued to be haunted by their experiences. The eloquent words spoken by President Lincoln to a mother who lost her five sons in battle, speaks volumes for the gratitude of such service.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln.
The only thing I can add is this:
Thank you.
May God bless all those that have paid such a price for the freedom that we enjoy today.