Reflections

“Leave your orphans behind, I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in Me.” Jeremiah 49:11

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  James 1:27

Today we celebrate Veteran’s Day in the USA.  It is a time that we honor our soldiers who have served this country and the many wars we have faced.  We know the high price of war is the lost of our soldiers lives; prisoners of wars; wounded soldiers; and broken families.  Unfortunately, the current wars that we have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan may have lingering effects for generations to come.

We have been fighting these two wars for 10 years now.  Even though the death toll has not been as high as previous wars; these two wars have taken a great toil on our soldiers, their families and our society.  Our soldiers have faced multiple deployments and we have seen a record number of women soldiers serving in these two wars.  Many children have been left behind and these children may be the greatest price we pay for these wars.  Children need their parents, if they are raised apart from their parents it has a lasting effect even into their adulthood.

I can’t even imagine a child that loses a parent to war.  Everyone knows the risk but we all hope that our soldiers return home safe and sound.  But the other tragedy facing children are the multiple deployments.  Imagine seeing your dad or mom going off to war; they return home to only be sent back again – leaving a child to face the separation again and again.  This can cause fear, anxiety, anger, and hatred to build in a child’s heart.  Where is their safety and who will care for them?

We may not know the impact of this until years from now even after the wars are completed.  Truthfully we are seeing more and more homes losing the fathers as they go off to fight in these wars.  There are also mothers being sent but the majority of those serving are men and many of them are fathers. 

We cannot ignore the impact that these wars have on our children.  They need our love and support.  As the bible tells us we are to care for the widows and orphans and we do not have to wait for our soldiers to die to take notice of the needs of the families that are left behind.

God has a special place in his heart for orphans and widows.  He has a heart for the fatherless and so should we.  I honor the men and women that have serve our country, but I pray that by God’s grace and wisdom that He can pave a way that these men and women are separated from their families as little as possible.

We may not have the resources or knowledge to prevent multiple deployments of soldiers but we can stand in the gap for those that are away and serving our country.  We can pray and we can care for their families.  We as a society can do this.  It is not only our government’s responsibility but it is also ours. 

Whether or not we agree with the wars, the truth is our soldiers are fighting and we need to support them in any capacity we can.  The holidays are approaching and there are many families that will be without their dads and moms as they serve overseas to fight for our freedom.  Let’s see what we can do  to help these families cope and enjoy this holiday season.

As Christians let us continue to pray for peace and victory in these wars so we can bring our soldiers home and these children do not have to be orphaned any longer.  Let’s believe God for a supernatural act on behalf of our soldiers.

I pray God’s blessing, protection and grace to every soldier that serves this country.  I pray for unity in our nation as our military fights for our freedom and safety.  Theirs is a great sacrifice; but their children do not have to be the casualty of war.  The African parable says “it takes a village to raise a child’; so let’s help raise this generation of military children.  We all have a part, so let’s each do our part in raising up the next generation.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all our soldiers and their families, THANK YOU for all you do. God Bless our Veterans and God Bless the United States of America.