On this Veterans Day, as I think about those who serve this country so selflessly for my freedom and for yours, I can't help but think of the sacrifices made that touch so many families including my own. I have taken a moment today to thank God and realize there is so much to be thankful for. There is so much uncertainty in the world, economy, and the future for America today that we must take a moment and look back to times past. It is then that we realize how blessed we are even in a failing economy in 2008. Here, pictured are my grandparent's ration cards. This is the real deal. I have one for my Grandfather, Grandmother and my dad who was just a baby during the early 40's toward the end of the depression. I can't help but wonder what the people, who went through the "real" Great Depression, have to say about today's economy. Today, even in this economy, you still see a line at Starbucks when back then you were given ration tickets for coffee.
I have heard my grandparents talk of the Great Depression and how absolutely horrible it was. They lived through the worst of it for nearly ten years during the 30's. I think of how America, including us, is financially stretched right now. I hear the conversations that take place around me today concerning this economy and what our future holds. I since fear in people's voices and then I think about the conversations that must have taken place between my grandparents back then. How all must have seemed hopeless during such uncertain times.
I have found that one of the best ways to battle uncertainty is to look back and see how the Lord has blessed you and brought you through situations in the past. That is exactly what David did in Psalm 77:2-15 during one of his darkest hours.
vs.1 "I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. ......I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night; My heart mused and my spirit inquired: "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?.....Has His promise failed for all time?.........Then I thought,
"To this I will appeal":
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, our miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. .......You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people."
It is easy for our minds to get the best of us while under stressful circumstances. We see in the above scripture how easily David was falling into that pit of doubt and hopelessness. But we also see him switch gears quickly when he found himself going there. He stopped and made an appeal. In a moment he made a decision to battle the thoughts and he deliberately started thinking of days past where God had blessed him. When he took the time to stop and remember the miracles God had done in the past, it gave him hope for his future. For the rest of the chapter he is uplifted. It worked. You can read it for yourself.
All that to say that I am taking a moment in these uncertain times on this veterans day to look back at the days of old in my family and see how God brought them through some very dark hours. I can then have hope that He will also do the same for this generation and this economy and this season of time. I was going to start with my dad but I can't do that without mentioning my grandparents. My grandfather is a WWII veteran. The picture above is my grandfather during WWII with my father in tow. My grandfather is a wonderful man. It makes me proud to know that he served his country with such a young family to take care of as well.
I would say that my grandmother was the rock of the Deatherage family. She was such a strong woman. She grew up very poor in the mountains of TN where they didn't even have running water. She then worked as a nanny to pay her way through college. She earned her degree and became a home economics teacher. She was engaged to be married to a young boy she had fallen in love with. All her dreams were coming true and then the love of her life was tragically killed in a car accident. It was not long after that, sitting in the Gypsy Grill in a small town in Ky, in walks my grandfather to get a bite to eat and they took notice of each other. They were married and then came along my dad, and war and life with two daughters to follow.
I have to give my grandmother credit on this veterans day because she was the wife of a veteran but she was also the mother of a veteran. Now that I am a wife and a mother I cannot imagine what she must have had to deal with during those two generations of her life. Yet if I had to describe her in one word it would be "strength". Strength of character, strength in spirit, and she gave strength to those around her.
She and I shared a special conversation with each other before she died. She started telling me about the days that my father was off serving in the vietnam war. My father served in the Marine Corps in a very brutal war for a couple of years. Up until this point I had never heard my grandmother ever even speak of weakness. But during this conversation she spoke of how her fear for her son would cripple her to the point that she would go seek prayer with her pastor during those months. My grandmother never missed a Sunday at church but she was not the type that would openly talk about God much so it surprised me when she told me that she went out of her way to have her pastor pray with her for the protection of her son while he fought in the war. That showed me her determination as a mother to do the very best she could do in a situation like that. And at that point the only thing she could do.....was pray.
My dad fought long and hard during those many long months in Vietnam and I am convinced that it was not only God's will, but my grandmother's prayers that kept him alive and brought him home. What he endured I'm sure not many of us can imagine unless we had been there ourselves. My grandmother told me that the man that returned was not the same boy who had left for war.
Many of his buddies that he served with never returned to their families. I'm sure they had people praying as well so then you are left with the question of "why". I'm sure many on this day are asking that same question as they remember their loved one and the sacrifice he made by laying down his own life for his country. We may never know "why" while on this earth but we do know that God knows how we feel. He watched his own son voluntarily lay down his life for you and me. In a way the sacrifice is much the same. They are both sacrifices of love. Both sacrifices for our freedom. One is for freedom on earth while the other was a sacrifice by a man named Jesus who died so that we would have the freedom to be pardoned from the filth of this world that so easily stains and live with God forever.
This one man was spared and it is very evident that one reason alone was to be a father. God had a plan for me and my siblings on this earth and there was one man that was going to get us here.....along with my mom.
So after war, now life goes on. Another generation starts to surface and along comes the first daughter and they name her, Kelly. Three more daughters and two surprise sons later and his quiver is finally full. Was this why Grandma so fervently prayed? She prayed that her son would have a destiny and a chance in this life. God answered that prayer 6 times over.
When my grandmother was on her death bed as cancer was about to get the best of her little strong spirit, she still never complained once. All she said was that she had been blessed with a good life so how could she ever complain. I stood beside her with the rest of my family while my grandfather held her hand and she took her last breath. That was almost 10 years ago. I still can't even type this without tears landing on the keyboard. But her strength lives on in each of us. That little mountain girl loved until she couldn't love any more. Now my grandpa is 96 years old and is still trying to make his way in this life. He has his complaints with being old but he always ends all his comments with...."But such is life." I think there is a lot to be said in that.
My Dad recently went to his first Marine Corps reunion with some of the people he had served with in the war. It brought back a lot of memories for him. He got to see his buddies he hadn't seen since the days of war. They paid tribute just as we do today to those who didn't make it out alive. They all have that bond that they will carry with each other forever. It is family.
We all thank God for the destiny that He had on my dad's life. Again, God connects the dots like only He can. It is so amazing to look back and see how each thing happens according to His will. How one person crosses paths with another, or how one person is kept from another and yet He knew it all from the beginning.
So on this Veteran's Day I hope you take the time to reflect (maybe not as much time as I did) and look back on days past and present and thank those men and women who so bravely serve our country.
Freedom is a gift.......And it is not Free. It comes with a price. We thank you.
You have to watch
this music video. It is the story of my Grandmother while my dad was away in war. It wraps it all up.
