My husband and I were at a Christmas party last night and one of the guests was a young soldier home on leave from Iraq. While he hadn’t seen any firepower himself, he told my husband things weren’t going very good there. He told about a child, maybe 11 or 12, coming up to him with one hand held behind his back. Fearful and with weapon poised, the young soldier shouted one of the few Arabic words he knew, “Stop.” Luckily, the boy stopped. The young soldier said it was so hard to figure out who was friend and who was foe because of the many sects.
As the conversation wound down, my husband told the young man, barely out of high school, “Thank you.”
No matter how you feel about this war, most Americans realize these soldiers are risking their lives on a daily basis for a cause our government tells them is just and necessary. I have often said that while a war may be just and necessary, our leaders should never take us so lightly and frivolously into a battle unless it is the absolute last resort.
And so as Christmas approaches, my thoughts are with those who are in harm’s way. Those who are young and proud and hoping to return home to their loved ones. I’m fortunate to be able to hold close my two sons, one of whom just registered with the Selective Service, as the law requires. My wish is that other mothers, fathers, wives and husbands will have their soldiers returned safely to their arms.
2 comments:
Here's a prayer of hope for each of these who are far from their loved ones on this holiday season. May they do their part to safeguard the fragile peace on this earth, and look for the Day when we will have true Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.
Sheila, thanks for recognizing the dangers our guys and gals in uniform face and their service to all Americans. I know first hand how it feels to be far from family and loved ones at Christmas, not just those in uniform in foreign lands, but also their family, loved ones, and friends who also serve by supporting them with their thoughts, prayers, and love. "They also serve who only stand and wait."
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