Veteran's Day always reminds us of the conflicts of the past and present. Recently, I was
invited by my granddaughter Jaylah, (she's in the third grade) to come to her school for a Veteran's Day assembly. There was a special section reserved just for Veterans and fortunately for me,
from where I was sitting; my granddaughter and I were able to make eye contact;
which we did several times during the next hour as they honored all the Veterans who had previously served in the military or who were currently serving. Jaylah was so excited because she
knew that at some point in the ceremony I would not only be receiving a
carnation honoring me as a Veteran; but that a picture of me taken in my Air Force uniform would be shown to the entire student
body in a slide show. So as soon as my picture came up on the screen she looked over at me to make sure I
also saw it and then gave me a BIG smile!
I so enjoyed their presentation as they sang and shared
the history of Veteran's Day. Each man or woman who served, whether in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, or
Marines; was asked to stand to their feet so they could be honored in front of everyone. I'll
be honest with you, even though I haven't been in the military for decades, it
felt good to be honored and appreciated for my service. I actually got a little
emotional!
At the end of the ceremony as they were thanking all of the Veterans
for coming and for serving the emcee said, "If it wasn't for your sacrifice
we wouldn't have the freedom we have today." It occurred to me once
again that freedom is never free - EVER. It always takes the sacrifice of
an individual or a group of people who are willing to pay the price - sometimes even the ultimate price - with their lives. It felt good to hear someone say, "Thank You."
Later, after I left the gym, I thought to myself, I bet God loves it when we take the time to tell Him "Thank You" too. After all, if He hadn't been willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for us, as Christians, we wouldn't enjoy the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ. Freedom from guilt, freedom from worry; living life with purpose; and knowing that our eternal destiny has been secured for us.
Just
as I felt honored by a simple show of appreciation, I think God feels honored when we do
the same. If you haven't taken the time to express your love for what Jesus did
for you by giving his life; why not start today with a single "Thank You" .
~ Pastor Dave