I love American Soldiers.
Of course, I'm a bit biased because my husband happens to be one... and happens to be the strongest, bravest, best looking American Soldier out there... but even still, I love soldiers.
I have a real heart for them. I love talking with them, hearing their stories, laughing and listening... I love watching them work, seeing them parade, or jumping out of airplanes.
I admire the work that they do, their dedication and selfless service. I love their consideration for others...
and for the lives of others... above and beyond their own.
Their selfless service amazes me.
And today was no exception.
I was driving onto our military base on the way to a friend's house, when I approached a traffic light. As I slowed down to a stop I realized that something was not right. There were cars stopped in all the wrong place. People slowly getting out of their vehicles. Looks of horror and concern across their faces.
There had been a terrible accident. A terrible terrible accident.
Multiple cars were crushed and in pieces. And one... one car was upside down in the bushes, flattened down to half its size.
As I gasped, I told my boys, "We need to pray. RIGHT. NOW."
For a split second, I paused; trying to decide whether I should get out too (I am a nurse, after all). I quickly noted the 10 or 12 people who had already gotten out of their vehicles. But they were all standing by their own cars on their phones. Though presumably calling 911, no one had stepped toward the rubble to check on the people inside.
In another split second, I saw something else. A vehicle filled with soldiers had stopped just a few cars ahead of me at the intersection. And before I knew it, a whole fleet of them jumped out of their vehicle and went running across the road.
Running fast. Running together. Running in a piece of beautiful Army green harmony in the middle of the discordant and chaotic scene.
It did not appear that they were trained medics, just a group of uniformed soldiers out on a drive. Yet they ran without hesitation. They ran quickly and authoritatively. They didn't wait. They didn't question. They didn't wonder. They knew what to do. They knew how to respond.
It didn't seem to matter whether it was a stranger in that car or not... whether it was an old man or a young woman; whether it was someone they knew or someone they'd never met. It didn't matter who it was. They knew they had a job to do. And they knew the Soldiers Ethos to never leave a fallen comrade.
I felt my eyes fill with tears as I saw them run and approach the vehicle. What a comfort it must have been to those trapped inside to see the men in uniform and to hear, "Here we are, and we're going to help." And to see that someone wasn't afraid in the face of fear itself... what a calming presence in the midst of tragedy!
It was comforting and calming to me too. And I wept. I was so thankful, so proud, so glad, for those dear soldiers. God bless them!!
When they do things like this, all the time, all around the world, how can you help but love them?
Lord, bless and protect our soldiers, as we have been blessed and protected by them.
