With Honor and Integrity They Serve . . .

My heart overflows with pride in my son, in his team members, and our military in general. I always am proud of them, and my prayers for them are constant, but today I sit here with my emotions mounting as I think about the selflessness of each of these people who are so willing to set their lives aside to do their duty for their country, and for mankind. The generousity of these men and women knows no bounds.

I must admit that every single time my son called in to work saying he couldn't be in because they had an emergency preparedness drill, I never doubted that they did indeed call them in for such a drill, but I wondered if it was really all that necessary to inconvenience employers with NO notice whatsoever. But orders are orders, you do what you must when you belong to the military, right? Now I understand exactly WHY they had to do that! With a new commanding officer who is aware that the team must be ready to go anywhere at any time, things have changed. Since it was obvious after recent events that preparedness wasn't at its peak (I'm sure we can all recall disasters in our recent history), and it was decided that this team was to practice, and practice well, how to get out and onto business in a hurry. The practice paid off. G got the late night call on Monday night that they were on high alert for emergency aid to Haiti, by Wednesday morning he was in the air on his way. In that amount of time every single person of the assembled team had pulled together their gear, taken care of personal business pertaining to being gone from their lives, reported to the base and were gone. Wow. I challenge any person WITHOUT such preparedness training to do that without even a ripple of chaos. As inconvenient as it is for employers, and disruptive for families, this was such valuable training, and since any of us could, at any time, be in need of the expertise and efficiency of our military we should be thanking God they are capable of meeting the needs of those in crisis and have been trained to do just that. Any disgruntled grumblings, or narcissitic belly-aching of "poor me" by anyone on the civilian side just need to stop, shut-up, and grow some gratitude. These young men and women have earned the right for our understanding, our support and our love.

G - I am proud of you. You have honor. You have integrity. You have the dedication to go beyond just what you can get for yourself out of your time in the Reserves. You have the gift of willingness to serve others. You are a wonderful man and you have my heart with you on your journey to help those who need you. Thank you.

Music of the Rain . . .

In the wee hours of the morning, somewhere near 3 a.m., my loving dog decided she needed to go outside. She doesn't normally wake up in the middle of the night - good for her since as each year passes I get up more and more - so for her to be whining and dancing at the bedroom door told me it was urgent. Trying not to wake my hubby, I got out of bed, put on my robe and went out with the dog. I stood under the eaves, back against the door, avoiding the rainfall, but as I stood there I heard the most beautiful song.

Nearly holding my breath with wonder I listened to the serenade of the raindrops falling on the leaves of the trees, on the deck, on the roof and on the neighbor's shed. Each surface, each different leaf resounded with a different tone, so when all were put together it created the most incredible sound, music from heaven, God's song in each drop from above. While I stood there in wonder, still avoiding getting wet, it dawned on me that we are like the raindrops. We are sent here by God to sing His song, with discordant sounds dropping from those who fall away or in many cases avoid His work, much like the drops that were falling on various hollow objects made an odd THUNKing sound, at odds with the harmony of the chorus going on around them. We spend our lives, in His image, with a job at hand to sing in harmony with His word, doing His work. Those who choose not too, sing to a different rhythm, out of harmony and out of kilter with peace, love and hope. When our time here is done, and it is chosen for us to go to our eternal rest, the last note we sing is like the last drop of rain in a pool, echos of our song sending out harmonious rings of memory on the smooth waters to all who we met in this life. The discordant drops land unheard on the muddied landscape, leaving behind nothing but the murk of harmful influence and negative words.

What do we want to be in our lives? I choose to be a harmonious raindrop, falling in chorus with God's will. The travels won't be easy, but they will be rewarding as my echos someday ripple on the surface of the memories of those I've left behind.