Do not Forget our Paralyzed Men and Women in the Military

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Just checked the mail, and I got a letter from the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

These wounded men and women deserve our praise.

While serving on active duty in Iraq, Navy Seabee Peter Herrick was paralyzed from the neck down from shrapnel from a mortar attack. After returning home, Peter wondered how he could recover his life.

With hands on help from the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Peter and his wife Diana got the assistance their family needed for Peter’s recovery.

This is just one story of thousands of veterans who are paralyzed.

Although returning home from the battlefield is generally thought to be one of the cheerful experiences possible, it is a nightmare for the paralyzed veteran.

Just imagine what runs through their minds as they recover from their injuries: Will I ever be able to work again? What will my family think? How will I be able to travel? Will I have enough money to pay for all the unknown medical expenses?

Paralyzed veterans will face these and many other hurdles as they search for a job; as they face lifelong discrimination due to their disability; as they attempt to rejoin families and loved one, and as they struggle to simply stay alive.

I am not telling you to support. I am Asking you to share what you can to help your brothers and sisters in need.

You can mail a check to Paralyzed Veterans of America, 801 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington DC 20006.

Their website is: www.PVA.org/Supportveterans

I will be sending a check today.

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Yesterday was my birthday. (I finally turn 21! ) Actually 81, but who’s counting.

Today we had lunch in my backyard with my two sons and their spouses, plus one beautiful little granddaughter. We had the backyard all set up for social distancing, and the sun was shining.

As I sat there feeling blessed, I thought about my one son who served two tours in Iraq as a hospital administrator. He saw things he has a hard time sharing. He shared he has physical problems connected to the military, and is drawing compensation for it. I could see his shoulder was giving him pain. My son retired as a full Colonel, but I remind him that even though I was only a specialist I am still his father. LOL

My son is an example of the thousands of service men and women who served their country and was deployed into harm’s way. We owe them so much.

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How are you doing my friend? Were you wounded? Do you have war wounds that are giving you fits? You are not alone! There are over 8, 900 veterans here who may have been through the same things you have. Lean on them. Just make a comment of the bottom of this page, I will read it and get back to you.

If you life is overwhelming right now. GET HELP!! Do not let the darks side overcome you. There are trained counselors to help at the toll free number I am about to give you:

1-800-273=8255.

Please call it if you need help.

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

God Doesn’t Make Mistakes. He Made You

Hate Is Not a Family Value

 

You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemy.”

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 5:43–44

 

I have had students say things to other children that I couldn’t help but think came from their own homes. Surely these 8–11-year-old children couldn’t have learned so much hate anywhere else. They learned about discrimination and bigotry right in their own homes—perhaps because the parents also grew up with hate and prejudice.

Hate should not be a family value, but it feeds on generations of hate. And it will not stop being handed down as long as each family member continues to let hate breed within them. Someone needs to break the chain so that it stops in this generation.

If you are one who fuels hate, prejudice or discrimination, it has to stop with you! We must realize that it can stop when each of us decides to do something about it and banish it from our thinking. We accomplish nothing by showing hate or even simply looking down on other people as “beneath” us. We are all people of worth, and we need to respect that in everyone.

Proverbs 22:6 reminds us of this important thought: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.”

As parents and grandparents, change can start with us. We have the responsibility to teach our children to love and respect others. Imagine what a change there would in the world if everyone started to respect and love each other.

God didn’t create anything that wasn’t good. Each and every person (and thing) on earth was created by God. He does not make mistakes. He has a purpose for everything and everyone He created. Each of us has the same value to Him. Therefore, we should consider everyone around us as one of His creations and love them as we would love ourselves.

Hate never works any good in the end. We may try to hate, and shun someone, but we are the losers when we do. We wallow in our own mire and muck trying to hate our neighbors, but the only misery it causes is our own.

It really is so much easier to love someone than to work so hard at hating him or her. The stress level is much higher when you hate someone, and you never feel like you’ve won the game. Loving someone reaps many rewards—peace, for instance. Hating someone only destroys the crop—and eats away at you.

Avoid the rush. Be one of the first in your world to reach out and love those with whom who you’ve had conflict. They will be surprised, and may not react right away. But in the end they will respect you. They will have the burden on their shoulders to either accept your peace offering, or they will be the ones who get to wallow in the muck and mire.

Who would you rather it be—them or you?

 

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:27–28

 

Further adventures

Think about what your parents taught you. Are they values you want to pass on to your children? Are they values you live by today? Do they teach tolerance and love? If not, do some soul-searching. For the sake of your children, take time to evaluate your thinking. If it isn’t quite what you think you want your children to know, do something about it. Get into the Word and see what God says about loving your neighbor—and yes, even loving your enemy.

 

Something to ponder

Isn’t it funny that when you smile you have more face value?

 * Excerpt from: Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World