Citizen Soldier

Not talking about the Three Doors Down rock song Citizen Soldier, or our Country’s National Guard, for whom the song is dedicated.

Talking about all the active duty men and women military personnel I’ve seen this week. Orlando to Atlanta, Atlanta to Columbia, Columbia to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Dallas.

Decided, in the spirit of giving, to not only give thanks internally, but to give thanks externally.

So I awkwardly asked how best to show appreciation for their efforts. They all said basically the same thing.

A simple thank you means a lot.

And so that’s what I’ve been doing, going only a little out of my way (that’s all it takes), to thank each and every one I pass.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. One of the service men, heading back to Iraq and leaving behind a wife and three children (16, 10, 6) at Christmas time, wound up being an angel for me about five minutes later.

Autumnal Equinox

The Autumnal equinox comes and goes every September. It happened again yesterday. Most people never notice.

One might even ask, “Who cares”?

Realizing this while eating lunch at the Salt Lake International Airport, I took a moment to reflect on the changing of seasons and the passage of time.

That’s what these seasonal milestones do, they mark time in a bigger picture than seconds, minutes, days or weeks.

Seasons. Four every year. Big deal.

Several friends have recently found out they don’t have much time left. Life is seasonal too. We’re born. We live. We pass on.

Does anyone even notice?

“What would you do differently if you had ten years to live? Not weeks or months, but a decade”?

Start soon. The next Autumnal equinox is right around the corner…..