1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing

Yesterday was Veterans Day. And today my employer celebrates that holiday by letting us off work. As I think upon the meaning of this day, I realize how separated I have been from war.

And I am thankful I have been protected from it.

When I was in college my roommate dropped out to join the Army as a chaplain. He asked me to join him. I had already been told by my doctor I would never be accepted because of my knees.

And I am thankful for that happy injury that kept me from serving.

Is it wrong to feel that way?

I am even more thankful for those who willingly sacrificed their lives and possible futures to serve in war.

They exhibit a love that is true sacrifice, or should I say, a sacrifice that is true love?

Wars are awful yet many times necessary events. The Civil War was so bloody, ghastly and deadly, criminal in many accounts. And yet it was a necessary war. A war that disrupted my family tree in almost every branch.

One of my ancestors was disowned from the wealthy Libbey family from Maine because he married a southern lady.

One of my ancestors did not know who his parents were because they died during the Civil War. So he took on the name of the farmer who raised him, Jones.

In my work with seniors, I have known many veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other terrible wars. Some of these wars were seen as necessary. Some were not. But still the brave served, with honor.

And I am grateful.

I watched a Burns documentary about World War II recently. In it, one of the interviewees said, and I paraphrase, you cannot talk about war without talking about love.

Those who served loved their country; they loved those brave men and women they served alongside and by doing so they loved us.

Thank you to all who served; God Bless you.