I want to plug all veterans and say, “Thank you so much.”
My father is a veteran of the war in Vietnam, my grandfather of World War II. Both survived the wars they fought in, but yesterday, while attending a funeral (incidentally of another veteran), a realization hit me that I can’t let go: it’s not only those who die in the line of duty who sacrifice their lives for freedom.
I don’t mean that because of the risks involved and assumed in battle, I mean that very literally. All who live to be called “veterans” sacrifice a life without battle scars for an altogether different battle-scarred life. If not physically, certainly emotionally.
I don’t in anyway want to diminish those who literally lose their lives in battle; they should rightly be remembered and honored, much moreso than we do now. But the survivors who return home rarely return home the same. They and their families need ministry also.
I don’t mean this as a heavy read, more as an opportunity for the body of Christ to be ministers of healing.
Have a great Veterans Day!
#1 by Gary Zimmerli on November 11, 2009 - 3:00 pm
That’s a great point, Peter. I’m son of a WWII soldier, and brother of two Vietnam-era airmen, and I’m painfully aware, particularly, of my dad’s life growing short. The “greatest generation” are leaving us very quickly. We as Christians need to be in ministry to them, as well as to all vets.