Spread Your Wings And Fly

Spread Your Wings And Fly
Spread your wings and fly

Friday, November 1, 2013

Church Article


                                                Here’s To The Heroes

     It’s November: a time to give thanks, and also, a time to honor. It is the time of year that we pause to remember and pay tribute to all of our Veterans: Those men and women, who are courageously serving our country, and, those who through the entire history of our nation, have taken up arms to defend our flag, our lives, and our freedom.
 To the thousands upon thousands of soldiers who bear within their souls the incredible burning, the unstoppable--and to some unexplainable--loyalty and devotion to country that they willingly leave their homes, families, and friends, to become our faithful Guardians—I thank you

Our Son
I am a military mom and aunt. Three young men, whom I love with my entire being are serving, or, have served in the military. Our son has been in the Air Force for fifteen years.One of our nephews served, and fought courageously in the Army, and our other nephew serves proudly and selflessly in the Navy. All have served time in Afghanistan and, or, Iraq. All three are my heroes. And all, thank the good Lord are safe. My husband is a veteran, as was his father, uncles, and an ancestor who served in the Civil war. Many of you have served or have a loved one who has, or, is currently serving our country. Again, to each and every one of these courageous souls, I give my undying thanks.

 Our nation was conceived, born, and cut its teeth through war. We fought fearlessly for our independence, we fought to grow, and we fought for freedom; we fought to abolish slavery, and reunite a fractured nation. This perhaps was the most tragic of all the wars—the Civil War. The enemy wasn’t some foreign country, or heartless dictator—no—the battle was fought, brother against brother, father against son, nephew against uncle, cousin against cousin. For each and every one of these brave men and boys, I once again give thanks.

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored, He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword. His truth is marching on.  Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps. They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps. I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps. His day is marching on”.
(Battle Hymn of the Republic -Words: Ju­lia W. Howe, 1861, alt. This hymn was born dur­ing the Amer­i­can ci­vil war, when Howe vis­it­ed a Un­ion Ar­my camp on the Po­to­mac Riv­er near Wash­ing­ton, D. C. She heard the sol­diers sing­ing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was tak­en with the strong march­ing beat. She wrote the words the next day.)


From the creation of our nation, there have been wars, and with war, there are heroes. These heroes however do not wear red capes and tights; they do not have super powers. They cannot leap over tall buildings in a single bound, or run faster than a flash of lightening. No, these heroes are sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers.

During the Civil War many heroes were mere boys, whiskers had not yet sprouted upon their innocent faces, and yet, they fought, and many died.
Two Brothers Met
“Two brothers alike in so many ways, donned uniforms on the same day—one wore blue, the other wore gray. One mother, with a breaking heart, hugged her boys before they did part. She watched, as tears ran down her face, as her two sons walked away. With a final hug, and a shake of the hands, the brothers turned toward separate lands. Visions of glory and honor rang in their heads; each knew they were right, that’s, at least what they said. But war was not glorious, and honor ran red, as the ground became soaked with the blood that was shed. Musket balls flew: cannons explode: as the brothers fought blindly through smoke that billowed. Two brothers met on the battlefield that day--one wore blue, and, the other wore gray”.



Thousand’s upon thousands of people fought and died in the Civil war arguing polarized causes  which had torn our country apart, defending the rights of human beings without rights, and ultimately, aftergreat loss, reuniting our troubled nation. Thousands more have fought in so many wars through out ourhistory, defending our nation and preserving our freedom. Men and women have followed a calling that only they can hear. A calling to leave family and friends; to leave their homes and security; to wear their uniforms with pride, and place themselves in harms way to protect us. As the song says, “All gave some, some gave all”.

“Here's to the heroes, those few who dare.  Heading for glory, living a prayer.Here's to the heroes, who change our lives. Thanks to the heroes, Freedom survives.Here's to the heroes who never rest. They are the chose. We are the blessed.
Here's to the heroes, who aim so high. Here's to the heroes, who do or die.Here's to the heroes, who aim so high. Here's to the heroes, who do or die. Here's to the heroes who do or die”.
(Writers: Don Black & Barry John- sung by: Mario Frangoulis)

Here’s to the heroes, those who marched in ragged clothes, tattered shoes, or bare feet: the boys, men, sons, and brothers. Here’s to the heroes who traveled the oceans, fighting the enemy though fear gripped their hearts. Here’s to the heroes who felt the call within their souls to place themselves in the path of death, so that we may live. Here’s to the heroes, who after terror struck our shores, stood up proudly, courageously, with gritted teeth and clenched fists, and said, “No More!” Here’s to the heroes, who sleep in trenches and grieve for
fallen friends. Here’s to the heroes who sail the oceans, or soar through the skies. Here’s to the heroes whowear the uniform with honor, who protect and serve, but have been spared the horrors of war. Here’s to the hero, whether young or old, male or female, son or daughter. Here’s to the hero who touches his children’sfaces only in his dreams, and yearns for his wife’s embrace. Here’s to the hero whose mother’s heart conflicts with the gun she bears.

To all the heroes, past, present, and those yet to come, I say--from the bottom of my heart-- thank-you.

God bless all of our Veterans,
Sandy Wells

                                          Here’s To The Heroes - A Military Tribute                                                                                                                                                 


 


Monday, September 30, 2013

Home

                                                            The Word Love

The Word Love When asked to choose a word for a writing assignment, think on it and ultimately write about this word - “Love” was not my first choice. It was not even my choice. My mind was searching for an important word, a fun word, a word of deep meaning. A word with more than one syllable. But, when in frustration, I finally asked God what word He wanted me to write about. This one syllable word flew into my mind. It actually flew into my mind before I had even completed my question. My response was; “Love? Really?
You can’t do better than that?” Then I got smart and stopped arguing. After hours of thinking and sleeping on it, and thinking some more, this is what happened in my brain. I wrote the article below for class, and was encouraged by our instructor, to search out a magazine who would give my article a home, in their February issue. Valentines Day. I need to do this. But first I am sharing it with my church family. We have just experienced the joys and stresses of the Christmas season. What better time to speak of the simple, one syllable, very complicated word - “Love.” Enjoy.

Let me ask you a question. What does the word “love” mean to you? Take a second. What word or words pop into you mind? Romance? Valentines Day? Your loved one’s name? Maybe your favorite flavor ice cream or those boots you found on sale - that you just have to have? Are you perhaps smiling, as you remember your first love, and the flutter in your heart each time your eyes met, or your hands touched? Or, are tears slipping from your eyes, as you ache for the love of your life, who has been taken from your world all too soon?
Love. Such a simple four letter word. One lone syllable. Yet, so complicated. Love of country, love of money, love of family, love for God. This complex four letter word, may in fact, be one of the most essential and also ill-treated words known to man. We as humans crave the love of another, oftentimes going to great lengths to discover and acquire love. Without love in our lives, we feel incomplete, empty and alone. Whether it be the love of our family, a friend’s love, God’s love, or a country to love - our souls cries for it. Our sons and daughters at this moment are sacrificing their very lives - all for love of country.

This complicated, petite word, is an incredibly powerful force. We humans, fall in love, slide out of love, love madly, experience love’s first blush and love’s final breath. We know the thrills of new love - the heartaches, joys, and struggles of continued love - and the incredible sorrow of our true love’s, last breath.
Our hearts become, if possible, all the bigger, and our love magnifies as we
 bring new life into the world. This is pure love. A love for which we would gladly lay down our lives.This love is beyond reasoning and is all -consuming. We are their parents and they are our children. We live in them, and they live through us. There maybe no greater bond of love.

 This amazing, confusing, complicated thing called love, sadly, all too often in today’s throw away society, has become just that; something we desire for the moment, and then, callously toss aside when something, or someone,
 better comes along.
The word love is wielded by some as a cruel weapon, whose soul purpose is to control and abuse, “If you loved me you would…,” leaving the victim, feeling confused and helpless. Marriage vows too often are spoken hastily in love, betrayed in lust, and broken in hate. This is not what love was meant to be.


So in a nutshell, what is love? Love is alive and powerful, with the ability to uplift and encourage. Love lived before the dawn of time. Love spoke and life was created from nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and never fails. Love is commitment and takes faith. Love’s touch has the power to heal a wounded heart and empower the frail soul. A child crawls into a parent’s warm, loving embrace and finds peace and strength when they are hurt. A wife leans into her husband’s strong, loving arms when she is afraid. We can all cry to our loving Father when we feel lost and forlorn.

God’s perfect love, hung suspended between heaven and earth. Betrayed. Beaten. Abused. Forgiving. True love is unconditional. It is forgiving. It is everlasting. For some the word “love” is seldom used - “they know I love them,” and only spoken after a loss. How sad. Love is the greatest gift ever given to us, and the greatest gift we have to give to others. This tiny word is so important, that it stands before both “faith” and “hope.” “Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.” God’s love is perfect, human love is not. Love is absolute, and by no means simple.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Never Forget

I felt so guilty this morning. It was 8:52 am, and I stood in my kitchen with a package of Raisin Spice oatmeal in my hand—my favorite kind—when the announcer on the radio asked if we knew what was happening at that very moment in Manhattan. Then he played a snippet of a person’s voice calling out people’s names—people who had lost their lives on 9/11. I had, for the first time in twelve years, forgotten. How could I have allowed that to happen?
I, as most of you, remember exactly where I was standing that morning. I remember Matt Lauer of the “Today Show” (back when I used to watch it) getting a strange look on his face, as he listened to someone giving news feed in his ear. I remember him saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Then…. everything in our lives exploded as not one but two jets careened into the side of the buildings. Then one more crashed into the Pentagon and yet another crashed in a Pennsylvania field. As the Trade Centers collapsed in a plume of black smoke, ash, papers, and human beings, so did our feeling of security within our borders. We had been attacked. Now, twelve years later, victims are still losing their lives as a result of that one-day—firefighters, police, survivors, those who lived close to ground zero—are to this day suffering physically and emotionally. Thousands upon thousands of our brave men and women who serve our country have paid the ultimate price—their very lives—protecting our borders and our freedom. And I forgot. But I remember now, and always will.

Patty Wysong's A2Z Take 2 Writing challenge

The following articles are pieces I wrote for Patty's amazing challenge. Scroll down my sidebar check out her link.