The Cost of Freedom
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young once asked this question:
"(Do we) find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground?"
I would say, "no."
The cost of freedom is found in families and the sacrifices they make.
My brother-in-law is getting ready to head to Japan for 18 months. He's taking his family with him, but he's leaving a lot of family behind. For many of us, myself included, this will be the last time I see them before they leave. My nephew is almost 4. He'll be 6 when he gets back. He has two cousins that are 13 months old. They'll almost 3 when he gets back. It's going to be a big change.
When we were coming home from vacation in Nebraska, we stayed with my sister-in-law's family the night before we flew out. As we were saying good-bye, I saw the cost of freedom in the tears that were shed by everyone involved. It was rough.
Many would say, "why?" Because someone has to do it. It's a necessary cost for our freedom. If we don't put people "on that wall," then we won't have the safety we enjoy now. Nowadays, the cost of freedom isn't measured in body bags; we've lost less than 2000 troops in this conflict. But, some of those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines will come back to an empty house. I've heard of some units having a divorce rate as high as 75%...three out of four marriages in that unit will end in divorce. Less drastically, my brother-in-law's family will miss 18 months of life, growth, joys, and tears with his extended family.
I'm thankful that Nathan is willing to put his family through Hell for me. I pray that my family will be strong enough when my time comes to do the same.
"(Do we) find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground?"
I would say, "no."
The cost of freedom is found in families and the sacrifices they make.
My brother-in-law is getting ready to head to Japan for 18 months. He's taking his family with him, but he's leaving a lot of family behind. For many of us, myself included, this will be the last time I see them before they leave. My nephew is almost 4. He'll be 6 when he gets back. He has two cousins that are 13 months old. They'll almost 3 when he gets back. It's going to be a big change.
When we were coming home from vacation in Nebraska, we stayed with my sister-in-law's family the night before we flew out. As we were saying good-bye, I saw the cost of freedom in the tears that were shed by everyone involved. It was rough.
Many would say, "why?" Because someone has to do it. It's a necessary cost for our freedom. If we don't put people "on that wall," then we won't have the safety we enjoy now. Nowadays, the cost of freedom isn't measured in body bags; we've lost less than 2000 troops in this conflict. But, some of those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines will come back to an empty house. I've heard of some units having a divorce rate as high as 75%...three out of four marriages in that unit will end in divorce. Less drastically, my brother-in-law's family will miss 18 months of life, growth, joys, and tears with his extended family.
I'm thankful that Nathan is willing to put his family through Hell for me. I pray that my family will be strong enough when my time comes to do the same.
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