True Love

Today is Memorial Day, a day to honor those who serve to protect our lives and our freedom. But as I think about honoring those who serve, I realize there are three different groups of people we should remember to honor and respect.

 

There are those who served us in the past by joining the military and fighting in previous wars like the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and Somalia. Many were wounded, many were killed, and many suffered traumatic experiences they will never forget. They are older now, but that doesn’t diminish their service or their sacrifices. They deserve our love and respect.

 

Then there are those who are serving in the military right now. There are thousands of young men and women who are fighting to protect us by serving overseas in foreign countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. These brave men and women are also being wounded and killed and traumatized far beyond what we can even begin to imagine back here in the U.S. They need our love and support and they need to know that we appreciate their outstanding service and deeply personal sacrifice.

 

But there are also those who serve by being the parents of the young men and women who are currently fighting for our freedom overseas. They too are serving by first raising honorable, brave children who valiantly join the military and secondly by supporting them and their courageous decision to put the lives of others before their own. It takes tremendous courage and love of country to support your child when you know they are placing themselves in harm’s way. When you truly love someone, it has to be incredibly hard to know they might soon be suffering.

And that got me thinking….What if you knew for sure your child was going to suffer and die. What if you knew for certain when you sent them off.…that they were going to be captured by the enemy, tortured beyond imagination and then killed in front of an angry mob. Would you still send them? Would you still send them off with your love and support? I don’t think I could do it….but I know someone who did. He did it because He truly loves all of us!

For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten son….

                                                                                                ~ John 3:16

May God Bless all of those who put their own lives on the line for the rest of us!