A Morning Thought

This morning I am sitting in a campground looking out over the water. A gentle breeze is blowing and cooling off the already humid air accumulating today. The birds are singing and the geese are honking and water is rippling from the breeze.

I love mornings like this. It helps you forget some of the issues that we face in life. Here the war seems distant and the politicians irrelevant. Here you can be and are reminded how great God is. He is seen in everything around us. Look there is a red headed woodpecker, over there the geese are gathering at the camper next door where the lady is feeding them corn. Even they have a pecking order.

It has been a difficult week here in my little world. Last Sunday we said goodbye to our son-in-law as he heads off for his deployment. The plus here is that he is not headed for Iraq but his mission is important just the same. He is joining with other American and NATO forces in keeping the peace in another country. This experience has softened me quite a bit. I can never look at deployment the same as I did in the past. Now it has affected me personally. It is not someone else's loved one but one that I love. I feel a great deal of sadness at his leaving. Not for me, even though I will miss him, but for his young family. His son is 2 1/2 and even though I thought he really wouldn't grasp the reality of his daddy leaving, I believe I am mistaken. He does realize that his daddy is not here, and he asks for him regularly. Such an innocent mind, yet he is able to pick up on all the emotions around him.

My daughter is being the trooper. She wants so much for her husband to proud of her. Underneath all that outward strength is a woman whose heart is broken. She is lonely and misses the companionship of her husband. She has things to keep her busy but it isn't enough right now, maybe it will be later.

My family over the years has been spared the harsh reality of life. Death was close but not to close. We have lost close friends, and children of cousins and other family members but not in our immediate family. And then 18 months ago, our bubble was popped with the suicide of my sister's son. I have not led a sheltered life these 52 years but it hasn't been a tragedy either. Now we are facing our next first.

I am angry, but not for the reasons you might think. I am angry at the reasons that my SNL had to go away for a spell. Not at our military, they are the finest money can buy, but at the heart of men that cause the need for such action. These men have a corrupted view of how the world should look and they are willing to have others die for it. These men believe they can change the world with threats followed by devastating actions that affect all. If it doesn't affect you physically it is their hope it will emotionally. They want you to fear them and their capabilities. They want you to fear their ruthlessness. They want you to roll over and play dead or be dead they don't care which it is. Give up or be eliminated is their motto.

That is why our men go and stand in the gap for us. No matter how you feel about this war or any war in general that is what they do. They stand between the evil men and us. Imagine a world without those warriors. Imagine the evil that would befall us. You don't really have to use your imagination. Look at history. History has shown us these evil men. Men who go against the government then insert themselves as the government usually as a dictator. That has been the difference between America and the rest of the world. After the overthrow of the British in the American Revolution it would have been easy to set up another monarchy or a dictatorship but that is not what happened. They established the government we now have in place.

Now when you see one of our mighty warriors in person, offer your hand in gratitude of the sacrifice they made. Maybe it wasn't life or limb, they gave. That sacrifice is great and there is no comparison. But for those who don't give the ultimate, their sacrifice is no less important. They sacrifice their year of two away from home and family so that you may live and raise your family in the safest environment possible.

So to all that must leave their families to serve and protect you and me...

God's Speed and safe return.