Psalm 33:12 "What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance." NLT
I am a military mom. I am a military wife. I am a military mother in law. My life is permeated with the strangeness that is the life of a military family. No night goes without fear for a loved one. No day goes without worry that a phone call will come. I have known this life for over half of my life. It is my normal.
This last weekend, the nation celebrated our independence from tyranny. I couldn't write about it on that day because of the overwhelming emotional toll it takes on me. They played this song at our Sunday service and I broke down in tears. There are few things which can make me cry. I always have to be the strong one. The one who fixes things. The one who makes sure everything is taken care of. Through all the bad things that have happened in my life, I have rarely given way to tears. It's just not in my nature. In the seat, in the darkness of the sanctuary, I let the tears flow and felt God wipe them away.
I will soon be traveling across the country to meet with other Christian women at a writer/speaker conference. I will walk through airports and see the kindness being shown to soldiers. It makes my heart glad. But do they truly know what these men and women go through? Do they really understand the depth of the gift that they have been given by the men and women of our military? In many countries, a woman would not even be able to go out in public alone, much less spend a weekend with other women in a Christian setting. We are truly blessed to be living in this country. Be mindful in your prayers each night that somewhere in close by a mom, a daughter, a wife, a sister is praying that her soldier will be safe and return home to this country.
I am blessed to have children with a strong sense of God and country. They serve willingly, with passion and fervor, always mindful of God's hand in all things. They protect the rights of everyone to do anything that they dream of doing. They even protect the ones who are ungrateful. I have 2 daughters married to soldiers as well. My grandchildren know the constant pain of daddy being gone. I am equally blessed to be married to a retired soldier. Watching him this past weekend, tears in his eyes as he watched veterans travel past us on the parade route, brought such love to my heart. When he stood up in church to be recognized as a soldier, a man shook his hand and told him thank you. As I watched my husband accept the gratitude of this man, the words of the Spirit whispered to me that this is all that is required. To say thank you at every opportunity. My sweetheart didn't need the words nor did he expect them. He would fight to the death for every person's right to be free. But the words make all the days and months and years away from home so very worth it.
I can't even imagine what it would be like to not worry. I lean heavily on Isaiah 41:10 "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you.I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." NLT I trust each day that my Abba will hold my soldiers in His Hands. That He will hold their families in His Hands. In a world where we spend hours and hours fixated on a soap opera murder trial but give no news time to the soldiers who die every day defending our country, it can be very discouraging. Keep them in your prayers. Be mindful of their sacrifice. When you raise your hands to God, ask His mercy on them and their families. They need your prayers now more than ever. They are your true heroes.
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