On this day when we
honor all Veterans, I am pleased to feature my friend Rachel Latham (whose
blog Scattered Words can be found HERE whose husband is currently on active duty with
the Tennessee National Guard. Thank you Rachel for the reminder that those who
serve continue to do so until they breathe their last. Make sure you thank a
veteran today. Let your children see you showing honor to the ones who protect
their freedoms. Pray for those who continue to serve, each hour of each day,
standing between us and all that is evil in this world.
Veterans Day by Rachel Latham
I have stood by and seen my husband off to war three times.
Three times I have wondered if he would return home. Three times he has stood,
along with others, to offer himself in the name of freedom.
I have felt the
presence of God push me to my knees in prayer, only to find out later that the
timing matched the exact hour of a firefight. I have seen both beauty and fear
in those lonely days and nights.
I have stayed awake
through the nights, unable to sleep, the reality of my comfortable secure bed
paid for at the price of those standing on the front lines.
I have calmed the
fears of children, spoken words of strength and comfort into their hearts, when
I felt so little in my own heart. A mother’s love can do that- offer what isn’t
even always there in order to bring peace to a worried little one.
I have felt the joy
of the return, knowing how so much has changed, but eternally grateful for the
opportunity to learn each other again. Not everyone is allowed this, and I do
not take it for granted.
The war doesn’t leave
and I have seen the burden carried by our vets as they recall those moments-
the fights, the fears, the victories and the losses. I see them standing at
monuments, a vacant look in their eyes as they remember, as their fingers drag
along the discovery of a name on the monument. They can’t forget, and neither should
we, the price that was paid.
I have seen the
veterans in the hospital, seen the camaraderie that spans the generations of
war…bonds that only those who have lived through could understand. I could
never understand, not really, but that isn’t what I have been called to do. I
can, however, be thankful.
I have seen and felt
the thrashing in the night, of memories that will remain forever, relived only
in nightmares.
I remember through
this how precious our freedom is, how without those who have chosen to serve,
we would have nothing. That freedom we enjoy is paid with this price. It isn’t
paid only once though, but repeatedly by those who willingly serve.
From,
A Loving Wife
Remember to thank those who answer the call as in Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!""
©2014MichelleWelch and ©RachelLatham
photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved
Please take time to visit Rachel at www.rachellatham.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/rslatham6, and https://twitter.com/rslatham
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