THANKFUL

Monday, November 11, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

On this day, we salute our veterans who wore the uniform, left family to deploy to hostile areas, and fought oppression and evil for those not capable of defending themselves. They know sacrifices that we who never served do not know. From sleeping in tents, huts or foxholes, to cold meals to steaming hot or bitter cold weather that would send us civilians seeking shelter, their sacrifices are immeasurable. The missed holidays, anniversaries, kids’ birthday parties, children born while they were deployed, and other sacrifices make the times now spent with family more meaningful. From a grateful heart, may we sincerely thank every veteran we know or happen to encounter today. May God bless each one.

Our prayer today, Lord, is all veterans will have the finest health care in the world, affordable housing, food and clothing and have their needs met. May the governing bodies over the vets do the right things and keep their end of the agreements they made when the men and women signed up to serve. God bless them all.

Today, we are thankful for:

• God’s blessings on our men and women in uniform, who put their lives on hold to serve us to fight for our liberties
• For our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles and aunts, members of the “greatest generation,” who went off to war in Europe and the Pacific. Thankful for the folks on the home front who made sacrifices to support our troops.
• The Korean veterans, the Vietnam vets, Kosovo and Croatia vets, Iraqi and Afghanistan vets.
• The old Berlin Wall no longer stands.
• The lump we get in our throat when we hear John Philip Souza’s Stars and Stripes Forever
• The gratefulness watching a WWII veteran struggle to stand and salute the flag as it passes in a Veterans Day parade.
• The spectacular aerobatics of the Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds
• The stark realization that freedom is not free when we visit Arlington National Cemetery.
• The dozens of American cemeteries that dot the landscapes of Europe and the Pacific Islands, the final resting place of thousand of mostly teens and 20s-years-old boys who paid the ultimate price.
• That a majority of Americans love and appreciate our men and women who currently serve or served in our armed forces.
• That your heart, Lord God, cries with the families where a gold star hangs in the window.

God bless all veterans, amen.