Today, I Honor You

Dear Sir or Madam,

You do not know me, and I do not know you. I am writing this letter and sending it with a prayer to heaven, to find you. Since the time of the Revolutionary War to the current war in the Middle East, you have gone forth proudly, nobly, and without hesitation to defend your beliefs. You knew that there was a greater good to accomplish, an evil to terminate, and so you put on your uniform, manned yourself with your weapons, and went to fight. You might have had six weeks of training, or you might have been a farmer that only knew how to till fertile soil. You did it anyway. 

You battled on the front lines with less than an hour's sleep and hardly anything in your belly. Tired and fatigued, you allowed adrenaline to pump through your veins so you could find that enemy and take him down, so his leaders would lose power and eventually lose control of the war. You even looked the enemy in the eye and realized he was not that different from you. He, too, was following orders, perhaps also drafted into a battle without choice.

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You missed your family back home, yet you stayed where you were, because that is where your father, grandfather, great-grandfather also stayed. Somehow in your heart, you knew that is where you needed to be, and you were willing to pay the price- any price- for freedom.

You fought so that I, a stranger, could sleep at night in peace, wake in the morning and have breakfast with my family, send my kids to school or homeschool them, attend any church of my choosing, or have different opinions from my neighbor on presidential candidates, marriage equality, education reform. You battled harsh weather conditions, grenades thrown at you, firing from the enemy, shell shock..... because you knew that one day, evil would be destroyed and good would overcome. You did that because you knew it was needed, and right. 

Then, one day, the enemy drew fire on your battalion and there was nothing more you could do. In one final moment, you were injured and eventually died, or you were killed from one fatal shot. Maybe, just maybe, God allowed a bit more grace for you and you died without any suffering. Perhaps your last breath left your body as angels gathered around you, ready to take you to a place of peace and rest. Perhaps the angels in attendance were your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who understood what it was like to go to a Heavenly Home before you had the chance to return to your earthly one. 

To you, sir or madam, I sit here in tears, praising God for you. I pray for your family, that they may have comfort in knowing that you are a true hero. Today, I honor you, dear Soldier, for giving everything you have, until your dying breath, so that I could be free. May you fly high with the angels and rest in God's everlasting care. 

With gratitude-

Mama Dragon