God Bless

Today I had to go to the VA Hospital to have my information transferred from Kentucky. Kevin went with me because he knew that I would have to wait for a while, and he wanted to keep me company. As we sat waiting for my name to be called, we saw many veterans coming & going. I tried to read the book I'd tossed in my purse so that it wouldn't appear to others that I was staring, but unfortunately, I was unable to read because I was compelled to look at the veterans that passed in front of me. Both Kevin & I were saddened and taken aback when we saw a young gentleman (about 25 or so) who had no legs. Either his father, or maybe even his grandfather, was pushing him around in a wheelchair through the hospital. My heart just caved in at the sight. When the image started to drift out of my head, I saw a lady (possibly in her early 50's) who seemed somewhat agitated, but at the same time I could tell she was trying to be patient, escorting a young man (probably between the age of 20-23) through the hospital. She must have been his mother trying to get her son to his appointment(s) because he seem to have some "issues" he was dealing with. He seemed uncooperative, and you could tell that his mother was trying her hardest to deal with him in a caring manner. That too almost brought tears to my eyes. How many of us parents imagine that one day, we will have to care for our children when they become incapable of caring for themselves? I have to admit that that's not what I envision for my latter years. I am sure that's not what most of us think about when we think of our golden years. Shouldn't it be the other way around?... Shouldn't our children take care of us & take us to our doctor's appointments when we get older?..... My heart aches at the thought of the sacrifices that many of our veterans continue to experience even after they have separated from the military.

Please say a prayer for all of our active duty service members (and veterans) who have placed themselves in harm's way and made the ultimate sacrifices in order to protect this great nation we live in. May God bless each and every one of them!