Thank you for your service!

Do you ever just flip through the channels and randomly stop on a show you never watch? For some reason it just catches your eye. That happened to my husband yesterday. He stopped on a show neither of us watches, although we have passed by it many times.

Bomb Patrol, Afghanistan

It was scene after scene of these men blowing up roadside bombs. Some were blowing bombs up with remote control devices and some had to walk right up to the bomb to prepare it to be blown.

We watched one man balancing on the side of the cliff putting a device over a bomb to blow it up. It was pitch black. We couldn’t really see what he was doing we could only hear his breathing. I was frozen watching him.

He safely prepared the bomb and returned to the other’s waiting for him.

As he smiled he said, “That got real.”  Then he said, “I hope my mom doesn’t see that one.”

This is someone’s job. This is someone’s job! There is a mother out there that has a son that blows up bombs, in a different country, for a living. I cannot even begin to imagine what his family must feel on a daily basis. How do you adjust to that? I freak-out when my son goes to Seattle on a Saturday night.

I know. We all know that there are people risking their lives. I know we lose men & women in battle--in war often. But as I sat watching these men building devices to blow up bombs it really hit me what they risk and sacrifice every day.

I found myself saying, “This is sad.” “This show is sad.” “I feel sad.” “I don’t want to watch this anymore.”

I think now what made me sad was me. I’m sad I didn’t give them the respect, the care enough to think of these guys daily. To pray for them daily while they are over there and for their safe return. Heck, I couldn’t even stop on a show about the men & women working so hard for us overseas.

Of course, I would be thankful and I would think it’s terrible we are over there.

But. I get it now. I see it differently.

I am so truly grateful for what the service men & women do for this country. I am so truly appreciative of the families waiting for their children to come home.

A very heartfelt thank you!