Tonight I had an eye-opening experience that I wouldn't have traded for the world. This may sound strange considering the delays and hassles at the airport that stranded me overnight in a Dallas hotel on the way home for the holidays. But considering that the airline put me up in a nice Marriot room, where I'm now laying comfortably in a robe nibbling on a chocolate croissant (compliments of the breakfast voucher they let me use early), I really can't complain. It was a bummer to realize that I won't see my parents until tomorrow morning, but the thing is, I will see them! And get a whole 18 days to enjoy them and the rest of my family who I love so much. I'll be home for Christmas, there's no doubt. I guess that's something I've always taken for granted...until tonight.
I got on the shuttle with 5 soldiers headed back to Afghanistan from their two week R&R in Alaska. Some of them got to see family there, some even got there in time for Thanksgiving. But now their shipping out again...right in time for Christmas.
It was hard for me to talk to them; I have such reverence for their sacrifice that it almost makes them unreal to me. I'm used to talking to missionaries for my church, who give up 18 months or 2 years of their lives to engage in selfless service. But putting your life on the line for your country...that takes a different kind of bravery. Honor. Patriotism. Loyalty. Humility. And Courage. Lots and lots of courage.
But when I plucked up my own courage to ask them about their lives, I found out that they were just people. Regular people who become great when they put on that uniform. And probably some of the most respectful people I have met...they stopped the elevator doors from closing and helped me fit in with their bags, saying they were used to being packed in tight. One said it was like a cattle car. Really? They ride in cattle cars? I don't know if that's slang for something, but whatever it is, it doesn't sound very comfy. Here I am living in the lap of luxury...do I ever think of those who willingly sacrifice their own desires of comforts for the good of others?
There was one soldier that looked so young, about my age. He said he got to spend Thanksgiving with his wife in Alaska, and he was grateful. I don't know how I'd be feeling if I were that wife right now. Grateful, or just plain lonely? Probably a bit of both.
The news this week that the United States is pulling troops out of Iraq (something that I did not learn until tonight, since I've been so consumed in Finals that I haven't paid any attention to the news lately) must have come as a relief to thousands of families of soldiers overseas . But what about those in Afghanistan? In Kuwait, Japan, South Korea? It is incredible to me that there are thousands of self-sacrificing people out there who are so wonderfully brave that they give up their own personal freedoms to protect ours. They don't choose when or where they go. They go where their leaders direct them. And they've probably seen things so horrific that much suffering has ensued in their personal, emotional lives. They are willing to die for us. I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a lot of parallels to what the Savior did for us. And it astounds me that there are people who do this every day. It's in their job description. And they volunteered for that position. And why? So that you and I can sit safely around the Christmas tree next week with our loved ones, exchanging gifts of the caliber that the Afghans will never know or see in their lifetimes.
Waiting in line at the hotel, the young soldier noticed on the news coverage of riots going on in Egypt. Cars were burning and police were shooting. He made a comment to his comrade that I didn't completely catch, but I could tell that whatever they were seeing on that screen was familiar. And it meant something different to them. It was real. It is real. This world turns round with things like this happening every minute of every hour, while I throw up my arms in frustration as I watch my plane pull back away from the gate without me. An inconvenience. That led me to a king size bed and a 28" plasma tv. It's a nice hotel, and I'm comfortable despite the fact that my baggage with all my clothes and toiletries is somewhere in the vast expanse of Dallas airport (that doesn't count as unattended baggage does it? I'm guessing they'll keep a good eye on it:)
It's a nice hotel, it's fine for a night. But imagine having to sleep in hotels for 3 nights in a row on the way in and out of the country. Then sleeping in tents, or maybe even cattle cars, in a foreign country where enemies might fire at you any time. So far from home. At Christmas.
There's something extraordinarily comforting about home. Sleeping in your own bed. Pulling up the covers knowing that when you climb out of them the next day, you'll be greeted by smiling faces of those who love you.
Needless to say, I didn't come into my room tonight and turn on my plasma screen to watch some mindless sitcom. I was given some food for thought, a kind that I've never tasted before, and I feel like I have feasted.
I think many of us forget our servicemen and women in our prayers because we are not closely tied to anyone overseas. I am guilty of this. I had never had much exposure , and my ignorance bred ingratitude. But now I know what it means for someone to be home for Christmas ONLY in their dreams. To be serving elsewhere and to miss the gleam in the child's eyes, to miss the carols around the piano, to miss the love that emanates from the spirit of giving and of family.
Next year I will be on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will not be with my family for Christmas, but I know they will not be far from me. And they will be safe, and I will be safe. These soldiers and their families don't have that assurance. But we as Americans will maintain our freedoms and safety as long as they are willing to serve.
So to all those who will be home for Christmas only in their dreams...I salute you. And say thank you. God bless you, and God bless America!
Sidenote, if you haven't seen the movie Courageous, that needs to be the next on your list. So good! It shows the influence a righteous man can have not only on his family, but on the world.
