My Christmas Wish

This was a letter to a best friend, a soldier serving in Baghdad...

I'm thinking tonight how grateful I am that you and so many others are willing to sacrifice so much. We're sitting home, fat, lazy, safe (or at least relatively safe in this neighborhood!), trying to get the spirit of Christmas in our hum drum little lives. We seem almost oblivious to the fact that you're over there, a million miles from home, family, loved ones, in the valiant struggle for freedom.

We think we have it rough here. Financial troubles, traffic jams, angry bosses, pesky neighbors, the occasional sound of a gunshot from somewhere else. You're seeing the other side of life first-hand. How different it would be here if it weren't for you who have either put your lives at risk or given them up entirely to ensure our safety. Someone asked, where are Bat Man, Superman and the other superheroes when we need them? Well, we don't need them when we have you! The men and women of the armed forces. You are the real heroes. We owe you a debt we could never repay. And the way we act sometimes, I hope we're worth it.

We whine and complain. We distort the truth to fit our political slant.We are quick to point a finger at others and slow to take responsibility, unless it makes us look good. We are a breeding ground for laws, lawsuits and lawbreaking. We remove God from our lives and then blame Him for our problems. We are a country of greedy, selfish, pompous asses. At first glance, it might seem better if God would just wipe the country clean and start over.

But we are also a country of hard workers. Of people who dream, and sometimes fulfill those dreams. We were founded on principles of faith, and most still cling to those standards. We are a society of freedom. Free to speak our mind. Free to move about. Free to worship. Free to help our neighbor. Free to reach our highest potential or wallow in the lowest depths And we owe those freedoms,in large part, to you... in Baghdad, and around the world.

My Christmas wish for you is that God will reward you generously for your efforts. That He will keep you safe and bring you home soon.That your families will be provided for well in your absence. That loneliness will be replaced with comfort. That He will guide you in your activities. That you will continue to do your best and act honorably.That your work will help to bring peace to a troubled world and keep our nation free. And that we will be more deserving of your service and sacrifice.

Merry Christmas
(Written 12/25/03)