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Today is Veteran’s Day, so I wanted to pause to say a big thank you to all the Veterans out there, as well as all their families. I walked through my brother’s first deployment this year, and while I have yet to talk much about it on the blog, it shaped my experience this year. I’ve faced fear differently than I really ever have this year, and I’ve seen a deep level of sacrifice. To say thank you to those who put themselves in harm’s way seems utterly insufficient.
Here’s what I posted last Veteran’s Day:
The military is something near and dear to my heart, as a large percentage of the males in my family have in some way been involved in it, and most of them have gone to war. This is a post I wrote back in 2012, and I thought I’d re-post it today:
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. ~G.K. Chesterton
Today is Veteran’s Day, and I couldn’t let the day go by without posting about it. Growing up my parents talked often of the sacrifice of the military. Both grandpas were in the military (I have all the Letters from War from one of them), my Uncle put in a full 20 years, and most importantly my little brother is now in the military. I was raised to understand the sacrifice that they and their families gave. I have to say that when my brother left for basic training, I definitely cried. I was So. Proud. of him, but as my baby brother, I was scared for him and my family. I realized that in many ways we were giving him up to something bigger than our family. It’s unpredictable, scary, and involves great sacrifice from those men and women and their families. It’s easy to take these men and women for granted when we don’t see them putting their lives on hold or on the line. So on this day especially, I challenge you to think about the great sacrifice that thousands of men and women have made for you throughout the years. I challenge you to pray for them and their families. I challenge you to be thankful for their service.
Here are a few ways to show you care:
- Send a USO Care Package to a solider
- Find a way to volunteer with USO
- Adopt a military family for Christmas
- Volunteer with The Soldiers Project to help provide free counseling services to soldiers and their loved ones
- Volunteer at a local VA
- When you see a soldier, say a simple “thank you for your service” and smile
- Give support and encouragement to the families of deployed soldiers (<- on a personal note, this one is HUGE. I so appreciate the friends who checked in to see how he was doing, committed to praying for peace for us and safety for him, and for the hours they sat with me as I worried or cried or processed what was happening. That alone made a big difference).
- If you are at a restaurant or gas station, offer to pay for the soldier’s food or gas as a way of saying thank you for their service
- Download the Charity Miles App to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.
- Donate to the Christmas Can Cure Project through Wounded Warriors
And, from the bottom of my heart, to all soldiers and their loved ones- thank you for your courage and sacrifice. I know that a thank you doesn’t make it easier or bring your solider home. But please know that their/your sacrifice is deeply appreciated. Freedom isn’t free…
