A Letter of Thanks: Dear Veteran and Dear God
A Letter of Thanks
Dear Veteran,
Soon, we celebrate something important in history. It’s significant. It’s you.
Void of your presence, we the people, would be despairingly weak and open to continued attacks by our enemies.
You see, we need you. We believe in you. We are proud to deem you worthy of our respect.
To warriors who paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who remain. Those who are wounded in body and spirit. You epitomize bravery in our eyes.
Soldiers valiant in honor and duty. Serving in war and peace. Our fellow countrymen, our veterans.
Hand on chest or in salutation, we raise our voice to echo your voice:
America, the land of the free and home of the brave.*
But freedom comes with a price. Bloodshed of brave men and women. The ones who courageously fought to purchase our freedom, slain for liberty and justice.
To veterans everywhere and of all time, we humbly thank you.
Forever grateful,
Citizens of a great nation
Dear Veteran, Soldier valiant in honor and duty. Serving in war and peace. You epitomize bravery in our eyes. Forever grateful, Citizens of a great nation #veteran #thanks #blog Click To TweetA Letter of Thanks
Dear God,
Soon, we celebrate something important in history. It’s significant. It’s You.
Void of Your presence, we the people, would be despairingly weak and open to continued attacks by our enemy.
You see, we need You. We believe in You. We are proud to deem You worthy of our respect.
To God and His warriors who paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who remain. Those who are wounded in body and spirit. You epitomize bravery in our eyes.
Soldiers valiant in honor and duty. Serving in war and peace. Our fellow sojourners, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Hand on chest or in salutation, we raise our voice to echo your voice:
Heaven, the land of the spiritually free and home of brave men’s Creator.
But freedom comes with a price. Bloodshed of brave men and women. Martyrs and soldiers of the cross, slain for liberty and justice because of the Word of God (Revelation 6:9).
And the ultimate one who purchased our freedom. The One. Bloodshed of Jesus who courageously fought for spiritual freedom and eternity; slain for liberty and justice because He was the Word of God. He won!
To soldiers of the cross everywhere and of all time, we humbly thank you. To Jesus Christ who conquered death and is crowned King of all, we humbly thank You.
Forever grateful,
Citizens of a greater nation
Dear God, The ultimate One who purchased our freedom. Jesus Christ who conquered death. We humbly thank You. Forever grateful, Citizens of a greater nation #freedom #blog Click To TweetKing of kings and Lord of lords
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:11-16, ESV)
Days to Commemorate
On November 11, our nation will commemorate Veteran’s Day celebrating the service of all United States veterans. Let’s express our thanks to them and honor their service.
On December 25, our nation will commemorate Christmas Day. Remembering the birth of the King in God’s army who rescued us. Let’s fall to our knees to thank and honor the Savior, Christ the Lord.
*From the Star-Spangled Banner.
Top image is my dad who served in the U. S. Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. And my stepdad who served in the Air Force stationed in Illinois, Delaware and Vietnam.
Other images courtesy of Adobe Spark.
The winner of last week’s giveaway is Lisa Quintana. Lisa won Sarah Geringer’s book, Christmas Peace for Busy Moms. Congratulations, Lisa!
Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Lori Schumaker/#momentsofhope, Jaime Wiebel/#SittingAmongFriends, Crystal Twadell/Fresh Market Friday, Kelly Balarie/Purposeful Faith, Patricia Holbrook/Soaring With Him, Meghan Weyerbacher/TeaandtheWord, Lyli Dunbar/#FaithOnFire & Crystal Storms/Heart Encouragement.
© 2015 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
This is beautiful, Karen! I come from a family of veterans, so this was very special to read. But I love the reminder you give that we are citizens of heaven first and foremost!
Hey Emily, I see how this kind of tribute is special for you. Thank you. So grateful for both our veterans and our Savior. Blessings!
I love the comparison between those who have fought for our freedom and Jesus Christ who also fought and died for our ultimate freedom. We have so much to be thankful for and we should indeed show gratitude to those who have fought to keep our country free.
Thank you, Paul. Freedom always comes with a price. So we humbly thank our veterans and our God! Blessings!
I love this parallel, Karen. My grandfather was a bronze star winner in WWII, and I wish I would have cared enough at the time to ask him more about it, to honor him for it. I never want to embarrass the veterans in my life, but I want to show them how much I admire what they do. I’m grateful for it because I don’t have to do it myself.
And that’s the Gospel. I cannot do what Jesus did. Thanks for calling that out!
Good thoughts, Chip. Love how you said our vets did something we don’t have to do, Jesus did something we couldn’t do. Great perspective. And wonderful about your grandfather’s honors and just noting that here honors what he accomplished. Thank you.
Hello Karen
My Father survived WWII after serving in the Sahara Desert area for most of it. To think of the parallel between the salvation brought by Jesus and the salvation my own and many many other Fathers, Mothers , Brothers and Sisters gave fought for is a stark experience for me. Thank you for helping me see this in a new light
Thanks for sharing your story…your father’s story, Bob. Amazing! May we continue to salute veterans and thank them. May we continue to raise our voice to echo God’s voice, it’s for freedom we were set free. (Galatians 5:1)
I’m grateful for your dad’s service and the sacrifice of so many for our country, Karen! Thank you for reminding us to honor and thank them and/or their families for their sacrificial service! Pinning, my friend!
Thank you for commenting and pinning, Beth. I pray we continue to remember the sacrificial service of our veterans and the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God!
Karen, thank you so much for this beautiful tribute. I treasure the stories of my military family members. I love that you so beautifully tied in God’s amazing sacrifice for us.
Hey Elaine, Yes, what amazing sacrifice by soldiers in the armed forces and Christ, the Soldier of Calvary’s cross who provided amazing grace. Thank you!
Dear Karen,
Your blog post reminded me of the fact that our peace comes at a price for others.
With love!
Edna Davidsen
Hi Edna, so true and a high price at that. Grateful for those willing to serve and grateful God wanted to reach the lost at any cost. And it cost Him so much! Blessings!
Amazing analogy, Karen, and a great reminder of all the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for us, and of Jesus, the One who gave it all, for our salvation.
Blessings, my friend!
Martha, thank you. May we be reminded of the bravery found in our vets. And the bloodshed of Jesus who courageously fought for spiritual freedom and eternity; slain for liberty and justice because He was the Word of God. He won! Blessings and hugs!
I love this expression of gratitude and honor, Karen. I was especially moved by this phrase: “we raise our voice to echo your voice.” Our military and our King of kings are all-in for our benefit, the benefit of our people. I will be sharing this in FB and Twitter on Monday. Thai you.
Stephen, I like how you said all-in for our benefit.
The benefit veterans help bring to the people. America, the land of the free and home of the brave.
The benefit Jesus brought to God’s people. Heaven, the land of the spiritually free and home of brave men’s Creator.
Thanks!
Thank you, Karen, for the beautiful tribute to our veterans. I especially loved how you signed the letter: “Citizens of a greater nation” ❤
Thank you, Stephanie. Yes, it’s honorable to consider ourselves citizens of a great nation. And a higher blessing to consider ourselves citizens of a greater nation. 🙂
Dear Karen, this post brought me to tears, as I remember my brother-in-law who served in the army and is gone along with so many others. Thank you for your kindness and thoughtfulness. Veteran’s Day is always bittersweet. Many tears flow every year. Bless you!
Hey Melissa, I so appreciate you sharing your reaction and story of your brother-in-law. Veteran’s Day is bittersweet for so many. Hugs! And I also image the cross was bittersweet for both Jesus and the Father. Bitter suffering for Him but sweet salvation for us!
Karen, I come from a family of veterans. My oldest son, Kevin currently serves in the Air Force. So, I appreciate this beautifully written tribute to those who have sacrificed and served this great nation. But most importantly, I am grateful for our Lord Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice.
Blessings, my friend!
Beckie, I thought I remembered you sayin your son serves in the military. Thankful for him and his service. And, me too, thankful for Jesus Christ and the blood that never loses its power!
Lovely words Karen. I pray we always remember those who bravely gave everything for us and for those who continue to serve selflessly.
Thank you, Yvonne. It is a bravery to respect and lift up as we ask the Lord to make us brave in Him.
Thank you for this timely reminder of our veterans as we honor them this weekend. We live in a time when few serve. As we were growing up, most families were impacted by military service, for many people served or had served. Today, few families experience the sacrifices military people make in order to serve all the rest of us. If we forget, we’re neglecting the people who love our country the most and prove it with their sacrifice. Your post reminds us to take the time to thank those we know for their service.
Melinda, it does seem that way. Yesterday at church, my husband took time to share about each veteran in our church and a little information about where they served, tours, wars, and we even have an army ranger. He had each stand up as he spoke about their service. It’s such a special thing to remember and honor and give thanks for each of them.
Melinda brings up a good point. It’s becoming rarer to find families with loved ones in the service. On Monday, I’m going to take my children to visit my grandfather’s grave so that I won’t forget and they won’t forget. Just like he taught me.
How wonderful to take your kids to your grandfather’s grave, Stephanie. We WILL never forget and make sure the next generations remember too. My grown son won an essay contest for Veteran’s Day when he was in the fifth grade. It was such a sweet tribute and he read it at a Veteran’s Day Ceremony that year at our local Veteran’s Administration. Not only did the speech move me to tears, but seeing all the veterans there salute my son. Whew! It was a moving and emotional day.
This is a beautiful post, Karen! A lovely tribute to all those who sacrificed for their country and a pointer to Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice as well.
Thanks, Lesley. When we discuss sacrifice as Christ-followers, our hearts almost always point us back to Jesus. Appreciate your comment. 🙂