Veterans Day

So, today is a holiday. It's one of those meaningful holidays that doesn't include a lot of wild parties. Let me list a few of the veterans in my family:

• My dad, Peter, served in the Army National Guard.
• My father-in-law, Bob, served in Vietnam.
• My brother, Jeff, served in Iraq and is active-duty Army.
• My nephew, Andrew, is in the Army and expects to be deployed to Afghanistan.
• My cousins, Tyler, Ellen, Jason, Ben, and Lewis have served (or still serve) in the Marines, Army, and Air Force. Ben served in Iraq.
• My uncles, Chub and Bert. Bert served in Vietnam and I believe Chub was in the Army, but I could be wrong.
• My husband's grandfather, Friday Hema, served and was killed in Korea.
• My great-great-something-grandfather, Mr. Rawlins, served in the Revolutionary War. Of course, he was a Tory and I believe he suffered a traitor's fate in the end. I should double check that story with my uncle.

The media is very odd on the issue of veterans. It seems they want to honor and support our military, but at the same time they are quick to latch on to any story of a member of the military who does something naughty. I am very grateful that I have my brother. When I am bothered by what I hear on the news, I ask Jeff questions. His answers, the way he thinks things through, and the way he acts, bring me considerable peace of mind. I am confident that we have many good men and women in our military who are trying to keep the world safe. Ecclesiastes teaches us that there is a time for war and a time for peace. As much as I want to live in a peaceful world, I recognize that it will not be completely possible until the Prince of Peace returns. To truly be Christian, we cannot allow bad people, wherever they are, to continue hurting others. In the situations we presently face, I strongly believe that we are the good guys. (And by "we," I mean American soldiers.)

I hope this is okay with Jeff...I would like to print something he recently wrote to me. "I know I'm a soldier, warrier, and a protector of the innocent. I do it because I believe God equipped me for it, and it is up to me and others like me to protect those who aren't necessarily equipped to protect themselves." Jeff does things I couldn't do. I enjoy my freedoms. I like my peaceful little life. I recognize that freedom is not free. I need people like Jeff to protect me.

The other cool thing about Jeff is that he feels passionately about democracy and freedom. He feels a passionate desire to share democracy with the world. (I can't print that word for word because it was a spoken conversation.) I love that about him. While he was stationed in Iraq, his particular assignment required a lot of interaction with Iraqi citizens. Jeff got the wonderful opportunity to be in Iraq during their first democratic election. He was assigned to arrange to get Iraqi police and military to the voting polls safely. He has the coolest picture of some of his Iraqi  peers, just after they voted, holding up their fingers stained with ink and smiling with the smiles of people tasting freedom.
I taste freedom everyday and I am daily grateful for those who provide it for me--both past and present. I know it's cliche, but I'll say it anyway. We are the home of the free because of the brave. Thank you to all who have served honorably, and especially those who do so with a positive attitude!

A little sidenote, Jeff couldn't be as successful in his career without his wife. She is AMAZING in her ability to find the positive in every assignment, in her support of her husband, and in her desires to share freedom in any capacity she can. It is because of women like Cami that we can have stable soldiers like my brother in the military.

I found this little Veterans Day tribute. Most of the youtube videos recognizing servicemen were set to country music. I don't like twang. And then I found this. This is Journey. Journey is among Jeff's favorite bands. (At least they used to be.) So, I thought it was fitting. If you'd like to watch, click here.