_______Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day was yesterday and I am so thankful for our soldiers, who sacrifice their comfort, their safety, and sometimes their lives for the freedoms I am blessed to enjoy (freedom of religion and freedom of speech being at the top of my list: I can believe in Jesus Christ and am free to talk about it without being punished).  There are so many great movies that give accurate (sometimes necessarily brutally accurate) depictions of the courage and sacrifices of our troops.  Even if we have no close military ties, most of us are familiar with the tales of tragedy, valor, violence, heroism, ferocity, and sacrifice that accompany war.  And those of us blessed to be spared from experiencing these things ourselves are forever thankful to the men and women who live and die through them on our behalf.

Without diminishing my gratitude for our troops, I am also reminded of a book that I think tells a side of the story that we don't hear of enough.  A Year of Absence by Jessica Redmond tells the true stories of six military wives and the unique struggles each one of them faces as their husbands deploy, return home later than expected, and in some cases, don't return at all.  If you have never witnessed first-hand the courage and sacrifice of our military spouses (and also their children), please read this book.  After reading it, I will never again be able to hear a soldier's story without thinking of the family behind him or her who is also giving everything to serve their country.

I'm sending out a special prayer of thanks today for Marisa, Mac, Susanna, Lynea, and Heather, my friends who each have their own stories to tell as military wives.  I'm also thinking of my Nana who lost her husband to war as she cared for her two young children.  Thank you, ladies, for your sacrifice.