Our Protector(s)

My husband and I walked down the street the other day to an estate sale.  Although we didn’t personally know the neighbor who had to move into a home, we often saw him from afar on our daily walks.

While we were in his house looking around for the sale, a man came in with a Vietnam Vet’s hat on.  I thanked him for his service and we chatted a bit.  He showed me the injury to his hand and joked that he could no longer catch change in his hand anymore when he goes through drive through windows.

I told him our neighbor was a Vietnam Vet and that he had been a cook.  He remarked, “They got shot at, too, if the food wasn’t good!”  He went on to tell me a story about sneaking in to get pie or bread or something like that, after hours, because you can only eat powdered eggs for so long.

Anyway, since I graduated high school the year of our bicentennial, I was in the habit of thinking Vietnam Vets are twenty-something young men.  Stupid, I know, but I have such a lack of awareness of time passing that my brain fools me into thinking our vets never aged.  My mind is frozen in time.

Wasn’t Vietnam just yesterday?  I simply cannot fathom that those vets could be retirement age.

Today as we celebrate Veterans Day, I suppose many people think of it as just another government holiday, but it isn’t.  

Those of us who have never served can never really know what it is like to leave our families and always be prepared if called upon.  We know it can be hard on families, because many of us have experienced it from the other side—worrying about our loved ones when they leave for a tour—but we don’t know the day to day challenges and suffering that individuals experience as part of their military service.

No matter where we are, whenever there is an event that honors veterans (I saw one this summer at an outdoor festival which a number of our aging veterans attended) I can barely get through it without crying. 

Even people singing The Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem, with hands over their hearts, makes me tear up.  I proudly sing, even when people around me do not, because I believe in what our flag represents.  How can we face those who have fought for our freedom and remain silent?

Check out the last part of the last verse of our song.  Did you know that it is much longer than what we sing?  You can find the whole song here. 

“Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”

Isn’t this a faith-packed verse?  We are blessed with victory and peace. God has rescued us!  He preserves us! It is in him we must trust.

The fingerprints of God are truly all over our country and he always prevails, no matter what we may be going through.

During the summer our neighbor’s flagpole “clinks” as the flag waves in the wind.  I find it very calming and chilling at the same time.

When you see our flag flying, it may be a symbol of our freedom, but it should also be a reminder of our God who will continue to preserve and protect us as a nation, united under him, no matter what.

Thank you, to all of our veterans, no matter where you have served or in what capacity.  Your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed, or unappreciated.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidyinspirations.wordpress.net