For the ones who served
Veterans Day, a family of veterans, and the power of people who cover one another.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
There are veterans through the generations of my family, across the branches of the military. I grew up being taught to respect and honor the men and women who serve, and the sacrifice each one of them offers this nation.
When you look at what each member gives up, it’s astonishing. And the real might of our military isn’t only in the machine. It’s in the way brothers and sisters in uniform cover one another in battle. When they do that, they become an unstoppable force.
That’s part of why Wade Holloway, the game warden in Poacher’s Moon, came home from twelve years in the Marine Corps. He carries what he carried there into the hollows of Hollis County, and like a lot of men who served, he tries to carry it alone.
Covering one another
We need to remember the same thing in ordinary life. Whatever it is we’re doing, if we cling to our family and friends, we can push through obstacles we’d never get through by ourselves.
And if we cling to the cross and surrender to Christ, we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave. That power is all that’s needed to sow hope into every moment of life. People around you see that hope whether you realize it or not. It’s the gift of life, and it isn’t meant to be kept to ourselves. Share it with the people God puts in your path.
Today, thank a veteran for their sacrifice to this nation. And if they don’t already have it, offer them the love of Jesus, who laid down His life for us on the old rugged cross at Calvary.