Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Freedom

I have been thinking about my grandfather a lot lately and the talks we used to share. Those talks about freedom and why we are able to have/do certain things. Now, by NO means was my grandfather perfect, but one of the most humbling experiences I have had came when a man wrote my grandmother after Papa's death.

The letter told of how "Billy" (my grandfather) had saved his life during WWII. How Billy flew in, against orders, to help save he and his crew when their plane had been shot down by the enemy. My grandfather, "Papa" (to me), was a Navy pilot, and never in a million years would have told us that story. We heard about those fun times in the Navy...those times when the boys would all get together and drink, but never had we heard about how our grandfather saved lives. Sadly and especially today, I wish I could tell him thanks.

I can't even imagine what some soldiers have to "blank" out when returning home from war. Their stories I'm sure are altered and the pain locked deep inside because regular ole Joes like myself can't take it. I am reminded of that each time I get off a plane and I see a military person walk by me ready to get home to their kids or when I turn on the news and hear that another 10 soldiers were killed because some crazy man hates our American government. I am reminded of that each time I play with my nephews or think about our future children or whenever I watch politicians do the same song and dance everyone loves to hate: candidates say one thing "to get a vote" but then never DO anything to help once they get into office. How do you explain war to a 4 year old and when will these politicians start realizing that real lives and families are being impacted?

My point is this: Please pray for our country's leadership, our troops, and our future generations to come. I am not one to push a candidate on you, and certainly do not want to get into a policy argument, but I do feel it's time to pray on this issue as our country is in need of a major "Come to Jesus." We need a leader who will watch out for our people and restore the faith that my grandfather talked of during his WWII days. To you soldiers: Thank you for saving our lives and our freedom and please know you have people thinking about you everyday!