The Faces of War



The other night, just as I was putting my laptop to sleep for the night, I noticed that I had a new email from Laurie...the subject line: Picture of Stephen!
Opening it, her words to Stephen's mom, to Ron, and to me were that she found a picture of Stephen on her FRG website. She was so thrilled to see it. It was an action picture - apparently taken during a mission. And while I shared my daughter's thankfulness at finding the one picture out of God only knows how many out there in cyberspace with a picture of her beloved soldier, it also made me cry. (you know how I am). I opened the picture and clicked on it to give me a zoom in, and sure enough, there he was. Now, my first words to that picture were, "Oh Stephen." And the next? Through tears, my prayer, Dear Lord, please bring our soldier home safely to us.
It brings the war too close to home...puts a personal face on it that I cherish...and yet, the loneliness that I feel for him and for Laurie and Kasey. Their loneliness for each other. He is but one soldier in more than one hundred thousand US troops now serving over in the sand. But he is OUR soldier, just as all the men and women over there belong to someone. They belong to many people - and all of them are ours. As individuals, and as a nation.
President Obama said on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetary, they are the very best our country has to give.
God bless them all - those faces across the sea, and those who serve at home.