Letters From War - Appreciation Edition

This letter came from my dear, dear friend. You can read the post in its entirety here. *sigh*


Dear Military Wife,

I wish there was something stronger, more sincere, more potent that I could use rather than words to express my gratefulness for what you do for our country, but in the absence of knowing what that something is, this will have to do.

Thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice you make. Thank you for sending your spouse into harm's way time and time again. I know you don't want to, ever. Yet, you provide something irreplaceable to our soldiers. Something to come home to. Something worth fighting for. A face to put to a cause. Thank You.

Thank you for enduring our whining about our husbands being gone overnight or for a couple of days without gouging our eyes out. Those of us whose husbands go on luxury airplanes to stay in cushy hotels to learn about the next trend in technology don't mean to be insensitive, we just don't always remember the thing you can't forget: the fact that your husband leaves for months, rarely comes home on schedule, and might not come home at all. Yet, you're patient with us most of the time. Thank you.

I see you, ladies. I notice you out there, learning how to get all that business attended to that those of us with husbands who come home every night take for granted. You mow the lawns, take out the trash, get the car fixed, kill scary spiders, and much more... all with a fever and a cough and a nagging worry about how close your husband is to the area they're showing on the news tonight. Thank You.

Often, I say stupid things. When you're moving for the umpteenth time, I say "I could never do that" or "I don't know how you do that" or "I could never make it as a military wife"- as if you have a choice. It's fight or flight... and you choose to fight. Thank you.

Often, Americans say stupid things. We want to show our support for our soldiers, but we're dumb. We blast the war for being pointless right in front of you. We call it senseless and say we should cut military spending when you're barely scraping enough money together to buy your kids the essentials. We forget that you are standing RIGHT THERE when we take the sacrifice for granted. Yet, you press on. Thank you.

You often endure crummy health care, undesirable locations, and long days of loneliness. You regularly leave behind friends, hairdressers, gardens, and lots of your favorite stuff that gets lost in the move. Your kids change schools, count down the days til Daddy comes home, and skip Father-Daughter dances. I know it's not all misery, yet the stuff that stinks, stinks a LOT. You put up with more than I even know. You endure these things because your husband has made a choice to stand up for my right and the rights of my children to live and play and worship and vote and dream how we choose. And he's able to do that because he has you, loving him, praying for him, waiting for him at home. Thank You.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12