"For You Bouquets And Ribbon'd Wreaths..."

11/11/11 - Veterans Day!  I woke up today with a fresh sense of gratitude for a special class of American men and women who sacrificed themselves and offered their precious lives in the service of their country. This day, we honor and remember them for all that they have given us - a legacy of freedom. May the meaning of their selfless giving continue to resonate in the lives of all of us in the free world as long as the white crosses that mark their lonely graves exist and long after the last requiem has been said. For their sacrifice gives glory to an act of supreme love that the One greater than all of us offered more than two thousand years ago. His words still ring loud and clear:  "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 -

American Soldier, I salute and thank you for all that you have done, for your precious, selfless offering in the altar of freedom, an incalculable gift that,  sadly,  we sometimes take for granted.  Americans, since generations past, had understood the immense value of those sacred liberties that originated from a most loving Father, the Father of our spirit.  Ions ago, the ultimate sacrifice of a Divine Being became the prototype for the defenders of freedom as they lay their lives for those they love - their country, their family and the beliefs they hold in unwavering strength within their heart and soul. 

American Soldier, today and every day, may we remember that we owe you a debt of gratitude that must be repaid, not in soaring rhetoric as you are lauded in speeches and star-studded parades,  though they surely are well-intended, but in a the preservation of the ideals you have fought for - life, libertry, and the pursuit of happiness - for the present and future generation of Americans that inhabit and will inhabit this great country as well as for those dispersed in many nations of the world.  Your precious blood had watered the parched grounds of tyranny that brought an end to repressive rules of despots in many countries around the globe.  Your acts of heroism to defend the oppressed and exploited even at the cost of your life stand as white-crossed sentinels in cemeteries everywhere.  You have been immortalized in brass and stone and commemorated in plaques and cenotaphs of cold marbles.  Memorials to your courage and valor dotted many a city's plaza and recorded history replays your invaluable contributions to the preservation of freedoms we hold most dear. 

And yet, no stone memorial, no wordy rhetoric,  no posthumous tribute can ever equal any honor we  bestow upon you as we safeguard those freedoms you valiantly  fought for.  As we exercise the tenets of our God-given liberties, we salute you in reverential awe, American Soldier.  As we follow the law, as we make an informed choice in electing our leaders, we sing you a hymn of utmost praise.  As we defend our right to worship how, where, and what we may, as we speak and choose freely, we light an eternal flame to cast warmth and light to your lonely forgotten graves. But most of all,  as we live a life that bespeaks of integrity and righteousness, we not only give glory to what you have given us but we glorify the name of the ultimate source of our divine freedoms - God, our Father who gave us all.   American Soldier, today we will look beyond the ceremonial wreaths and flags proudly waving in the breeze, across to the far horizon and may we catch a glimpse of where you are as you sit on the right hand of the Father, you who gave testimony of a lesson well learned by laying "down his life for his friends".