Garrett has been on my mind a lot recently.  In less than a week, I’ll be headed to Fort Benning, Georgia to see him graduate from boot camp.  I am so proud of the choice he made to serve his country in the National Guard.  I’m trying to find the words to fully express the gratitude that I feel toward all the people who put their lives on the line everyday to protect you and me.  It takes special people to do this who truly have servant hearts.  We need to honor them in all they do.  We need to support their families while they are gone and give them jobs when they return.  I think the separation from family and friends is the most difficult part for them.  I can hear it in Garrett’s letters how hard it is for him to be away.  Boot camp is the first separation of many.  Communication only by letters isn’t enough. I miss Garrett’s smiling face and his uplifting voice saying “How’s it going?” on the phone.  But as he would also say, “It’s all good!”

I don’t think any of us really understand the sacrifice made by these servant warriors unless we have lost a loved one who gave it all to protect us.  We have a long lineage of courageous heroes who have sacrificed their lives and livelihoods for our freedom.  So many in the world don’t have this.  I think of my Egyptian patients who can’t practice their faith freely in their country for fear of reprisals.  Their government does nothing to protect them.  They have fled to America for the freedom to believe and practice their faith as they choose.  They are pharmacists, engineers, and teachers who cannot use these skills here because they are not licensed in the US.  So they work places like Meijer stocking shelves so their children can have a chance to know freedom.  This is the very freedom we experience daily but don’t appreciate because we have never had it threatened personally.

Think about it for a moment.  Where would we be if there weren’t patriots who were willing to risk everything by fighting the British to start our own country, free from being ruled by a king?  I shudder to think what the world would be like if the Allies hadn’t won WWII.  Hitler’s reign of terror would have continued unchecked.  We have Al Qaeda terrorist who now wish to destroy us but the unstoppable American spirit rises up and says NO!  Our adversaries  may have leveled the twin towers but they are far from defeating us.

Yes, I will hug Garrett when I see him, tell him how proud I am of him and thank him for what he is doing. Please don’t forget to thank a soldier, policeman or fireman for serving to protect you today.  Just think where we would be without them.