It Was All Worth It

   

 In a time when we are bombarded with reasons to be embarrassed about our country, we must take time to remember some of the things that make our country a great place.  Instead of focusing on the down and dirty it may help our perspective to refocus on the ways that we have been blessed.

     A trip to Washington D.C. helped my perspective.  We were on our way from the Washington Monument and were headed to the Lincoln Memorial when we happened upon the World War II Memorial.  It was not really on our radar but we were walking right passed and decided to check it out.

     The memorial itself is breath-taking.  But it was not the workmanship and beauty that touched my heart that day.  While we were there several World War II veterans were being rolled around in wheelchairs being shown the memorial for the very first time.  I had the privilege of looking these men in the face and shaking their hands.  As I tried to thank them, tears formed in my eyes.  They survived but many they knew did not.  These men fought a horrendous regime.  Because they fought and won we get to live in freedom today.  One of those dear men got big tears in his eyes and responded to my appreciation by saying, "It was worth every single minute."  I can not imagine what his eyes saw and what his ears heard during World War II.  But as he sat there in that wheelchair that day he knew that his sacrifices had paved the way for all of us. He knew what he had done made a difference.

     This veteran was saying that every moment he gave of himself, as he fought a most horrible war, was worth it.  He saw the blessing of our world today and knew that there was so much to be thankful for.  Sometimes we get so bombarded with the negative that we can not even see the good.  We really do have much for which to be thankful and if a man who fought that I could be free says that it was all worth it that I am inclined to believe him.

     Let's look passed all the junk of the news and the world today (not hiding our heads in the sand to avoid) but to really take an honest look around us.  We can not make a difference in the hatred and anger of the world if we are not able to see the good as well.  That which we behold we become.  Today is a day for taking a look from a new perspective.  Maybe we were not meaning to be where we are today, just like we were not meaning to end up in the World War II Memorial, but sometimes that places that we find ourselves in can be just the place we need to be. We can take a look around and allow the Lord to allow us to see our blessings.  We just have to determine our perspective.  We can get to the end of the day or the end of the year or the end of our lives and be able to say, "It was all worth it." We can leave this life better for our children and grandchildren as we shine our lights into this dark world.  Shine on.