I just wanted to share with you an experience we had yesterday in WalMart that helped me realize the blessings we hold.Alan, Holly and I went to WalMart to do that last minute, I have procrastinated AGAIN Thanksgiving shopping trip.
While we were in the produce section, there was a young mother who seemed to be shopping with her mother. I noticed she turned around and fell apart crying. Her mother reached out to her and hugged her and rubbed and patted her back and tried to console her. I knew something was wrong, really wrong, but I just wasn't sure what. I said a quick prayer and was hoping I could some how reach out to her and offer comfort, if the Lord meant me to.
We moved on and Alan began saying how bad he felt. I asked him what he was talking about and he asked me if I had seen the girl crying. I had. He said that she turned around, saw him and broke down crying. (He was dressed in his Army ACUs, due to him not having any clean civilian clothes!) He, Alan, explained how bad he felt for making her cry and how he should have washed so he didn't have to wear the ACUs.
Anyway, we moved on and passed the girl and her mother several times down various isles, each time she was shedding tears. I was in the lead going down the aisle, as I turned to go down the next isle I realized Alan and Holly were not behind me. After a few minutes, my arms full of stuff, here they came. Alan's face was beet red and Holly was smiling, Al was too. He informed me that the girl walked over to him and said, "Thank you for your service. I am sorry I was crying, but my husband is in Iraq and when I saw you I fell apart."
We saw her again, and this time (knowing now the source of her tears) I stopped and gave her a hug. Yes, you know me, I was boo-hooing right along with her. She informed me that he began his Iraqi tour three months ago and she missed him so much. She has three children, and from what I could tell, a great family.
This was a moment of pure blessing on so many levels. I was blessed to share a moment with another military family who were hurting, blessed that Alan has not been called out to serve in such a way yet, although his unit is being deployed in July.....thank goodness for school, blessed with health, a job, life, love, and pure joy. What a moment! It made me realize how blessed we are to have this day together; healthy, happy and hungry with a table FULL of delicious food and desserts.
Of all the people at WalMart, she was the only one that came up and thanked him for serving. Not that you expect anyone to say anything to him, I really didn't expect it at all and am always caught off guard when it does happen, I just couldn't believe she was thanking him even while in the midst of sadness and longing to see her husband. I found it ironic that one military family was thanking another. Here she was in a deep moment of grief and she was thanking him. I still can't get past that act of thanks. I guess I have a lot to learn about being a military mom.
I will be remembering those today that are not as fortunate as I am in so many ways. Today is not only a day of thanks for me, it will also be a day of remembrance of those who do not have the comforts we do, including those whose family members are too far away serving this country and giving the gift of sacrife. Sacrifice, it touches each one of us by keeping the freedoms we enjoy, without realizing what has been given.
This sweet young mother brought those sacrifices close to me and reality hit. Although we are not sacrificing in the way this family is; we have not forgotten that one day there is a large chance we probably will. That thought is what hits hard in moments such as this.
I am asking you to remember those that are serving us on this Thanksgiving day, and their families.
By the way, if you see a soldier, please thank him/her. You never know what kind of sacrifices he/she is making.....seeing them smile is worth it...they are too. They hear too much negative, they need a boost. Their thought on the subject is that people just don't care about them anymore, this is so untrue. I, personally, want them to know that I do care, and appreciate them! I know you do too!
Well, again I have procrastinated! I have a full array of things I need to cook, or the Thanks will be given to the person working the Jack in the Box drive through! (Another blessing, we are all off today!)
May God richly bless each of you today!
