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God Bless the Troops
By U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson
Though it is easy to spend the majority of the Christmas season preparing for the holiday itself - shopping for gifts, decorating your home and scheduling family time together - I hope you will find time to dwell on the “reason for the season” and to count your blessings.
Between Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas I always reflect upon how grateful I am for family, friends, faith and freedom. As a 29-year Air Force veteran, I know how difficult it is not being able to share this time of the year with loved ones, and I pray a special blessing of peace and safety upon those in harm’s way and their families.
When you gather with your loved ones this Christmas, I hope you’ll remember our military heroes who are far from theirs while defending our freedoms in Iraq, Afghanistan and all corners of the globe. Their safe and swift homecoming deserves to be at the forefront of our thoughts and prayers.
In fact, it was a dark and lonely night sometime around Christmas when my captors tried to break me during one of their routine torture sessions. I mused how my excruciatingly painful experience during the time of Christ’s birth gave a whole new meaning to long-time popular Christmas lyrics, “Fall on your knees” in the classic O Holy Night.
Consumed with longing for my wife and kids, for several years Christmas sadly came and went with only a few surreptitious “Merry Christmas” wishes shared between fellow prisoners by tapping on the wall and the faint sound of carols playing on a radio within the dank prison compound.
A few years later, I received my first package from home during Christmas. My wife had sent me a package filled with vitamins, toothpaste and “magic” gumdrops bearing top-secret messages about the San Tay raid and other inspirational information. What a delight!
That same Christmas, a group of POWs gathered for a church service – marking the first time we had been able to worship together in our nearly seven years of captivity. I will never forget the sense of hope filling my heart as we prayed together out loud and sang, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.” That day, I was overwhelmed with thanks and consumed with gratitude knowing the Lord had intervened in our hostile environment.
This holiday season, I would encourage you to consider sharing your blessings with those in need. Whether it’s reaching out to a military family or donating food to a local food bank, there are many ways to give back to the community and help others.
Operation Once in a Lifetime, a 501 c-3 non-profit organization, accepts gently used clothing, electronics and furniture to help the men and women of the U.S. Armed forces. Owned and operated by former U.S. soldiers, Operation Once in a Lifetime strives to ease the financial concerns of those serving our country. Learn more at www.operationonceinalifetime.com. Items are accepted at the resale center located at 2540 K Ave. in Plano.
I also encourage you to listen to this song and video of local singer/song-writer, Helene Cronin, of Plano , performing “Lucky Me,” by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQmgx6y9-g. The song is based on a true story, written after a conversation she had with a soldier at the Nashville airport. You’ll find moving lyrics that spotlight the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform – and our bounty back home.
As we prepare to celebrate the good news of great joy, and the birth of Jesus Christ, may God bless you, and may He bless the United States of America.
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