I hope you had a great time celebrating the fourth of July holiday - I know we did, complete with friends, concerts, cannons, and ceremonies. I must say that it was slightly different this year, being a chaplain in the Army during a time of war. The fourth of July is all about celebrating the day that we declared our independence and our forefathers committed their lives to freedom. We often forget that much of the war to establish that freedom was yet to come after the declaration was written. Many lives were sacrificed so that we might enjoy our freedom today...and it's still happening.
Last week I had my turn at 'On Call Duty Chaplain' which basically means that you have a cell phone so that if anyone on the entire post needs a chaplain after hours, they call you. It's a rotating duty that you wind up having about once a month. Part of the duty is also putting on the dress uniform and accompanying the next of kin notification officer if needed that day. It's a phone call that you don't want to get, but that day, I got it.
I put on my dress uniform and drove about three hours from post with the notification officer with the mission of informing an individual that their next of kin had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
That's why this fourth of July was different.
Most of us are so far removed from this ongoing reality - that men and women are continuing to put there lives on the line so we can continue to enjoy the freedoms declared that fourth of July so long ago. It's one of those things that's kind of 'out of sight, out of mind' so we rarely think of it. When we rarely think of it, it's a short step to taking it for granted.
May we never take for granted that for which people are continuing to sacrifice their lives.
May the fourth of July be a celebration, not only of our forefathers, but also of our brothers and sisters, putting their lives on the line, continuing to fight for our freedom.
Please take a moment to say a prayer for those families who look out their front window to see a notification officer and a chaplain standing at their front door.
