Twenty-Two Days of Thanks: Day Eleven

What am I thankful for?

1. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
2. My family
3. My church
4. My friends
5. Unexpected opportunities
6. My country
7. The four seasons
8. Answered prayer
9. Food
10. Forgiveness
11. Freedom

Today is Veterans' Day.  This is one of those days where I reflect on those who have given their lives for me or who were willing to. 

The first One that comes to mind is Jesus.  I have the ultimate freedom in Him.  I could never repay the debt I owe to Him for redeeming my soul.  Thank You, Lord, for loving me, for dying for me, for saving me, for making me truly free.

The second ones that come to mind are those who died serving this country. For decades and centuries, people have been dying so that others might live in freedom and hope.  How can we forget their sacrifice?  I certainly cannot.

The last, but certainly not least, group that comes to mind are our veterans.  This is the group who served and survived, who watched friends die for them, for us.  These people, more often than not, do not wish to be referred to as "hero", though I insist on thinking of them as such.  Why do they recoil at that word?  Because, to them, the true heroes die in war.  I can understand that, I can, but I also cannot get out of my mind the fact that a veteran is one who knew the risk and fought anyway - for me, for us, for freedom.  Anyone willing to do that will always be a hero to me.

To any veteran: You will always have a special place in my heart.  Thank you for your service. Thank you for being willing to die for me.  Thank you for your sacrifice.  I will not forget.

Every year, our church honors our veterans on Veterans' Day. We have a big luncheon, have some kind of presentation (gifts and a slide show normally), sing patriotic songs, have a veteran say a few words, etc. The ones that can wear their uniforms do so. It's always an amazing, tear-filled day. My boys are always so eager to shake a veteran's hand, too, and say, "Thank you!" It makes this momma's heart sore with pride. I'm so glad they appreciate and recognize the sacrifice they have made.

Freedom is not free.  Someone pays the price for it, with their lives at times.  Keep this always in mind and be grateful for those who sacrificed their lives, their time, their dreams so you would not have to.

Note: If you'd like to send a "thank you" to our troops FREE OF CHARGE to you, Shutterfly is offering a way to do it!  It's called "Thank Our Troops".  All you do is go to the app to select a card from their 4 different designs, add a personal message (or photo) and click send.

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~What are you thankful for?~

If you have a moment, please stop by my Twenty-Two Days of Thanks page (it's the bottom link in the left sidebar) and leave a comment or link-up a post that talks about something you're thankful for. I'd love to hear from you!

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)