It is with heartfelt gratitude…

Have you lost a loved one who died serving our country in the military? If so, please accept my most sincere condolences. And my deepest gratitude. 

I can’t begin to understand what loving your soldier, sailor or marine and sending them off to serve must have been like for you. How many sleepless nights you endured and how many anxious prayers you prayed for their safe return. Then, how heartbroken you must have felt when you learned your daughter, husband, fiancé, brother, mom had given their life for our country. 

How often have you read every letter you received as they fought bravely to defend our nation? How often do you gaze at the folded flag that sits in a place of honor in your home? How often have you replayed your last kiss, your last hug, your last goodbye? 

How much time passes before you reach for a soft cloth to wipe your tears because you can no longer bear the roughness of a tissue on your swollen eyes?

How often have you dreamed of your loved one, only to awaken and find them gone?

I and countless other Americans can’t express our condolences enough. Nor can we adequately thank you. But on behalf of everyone who has benefited from your loved one’s sacrifice, please let me try. 

Thank you, parents, for raising a child to understand service, sacrifice and risk. 

Thank you, spouse, fiancé/fiancée or sibling for supporting your loved one’s decision to serve. 

Thank you, child. You needed your mom or dad. And while you trusted their love and commitment to you, you also understood their love for and commitment to America. (If you were too young at the time of your parent’s death, I pray you have experienced or will experience God’s grace in your journey toward healing.)

It is my prayer for each of you to find hope in God’s love by personally experiencing Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV): “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 

I offer this prayer, not as glib words from a Christian columnist, but as a sincere effort to share the only solution – the best answer I know – to your pain.

It is with heartfelt gratitude for your sacrifice and with deep respect for the pain you continue to endure that I commit each of you to our heavenly Father’s steadfast love and mercy – which He freely offers to you today, tomorrow and every day thereafter.

Sheryl H. Boldt, a Franklin County resident, is the author of the blog, www.TodayCanBeDifferent.net. Connect with her at SherylHBoldt@gmail.com.