Thankful Thursday

Thank You, Lord for strong men and women who put themselves in harm’s way so that we can sleep in safety.

Thank You for those in authority over us to keep us safe, keep us from chaos and keep us moving forward.

Thanks for police officers, firemen/women, the fighters and tacticians of the military and the troops that support them, for the coast guard, the Minutemen, the sheriffs, the lifeguards and all who look out for us. Thanks for those who have laid down their life, often for people they don’t know.

Thank You for those, long ago who fought so that “a man can stand”* and live as you created them: equals. They laid their life down for the sake of liberty and the flame that they sparked spread over much of the world. Thank you for those who who thought that liberty was a cause worth dying for and thanks for those who think–and live–so today.

Thanks for those who share the lives of their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers. Thanks for their sacrifice, too. Thanks for these who proudly support their loved ones.

Thanks for those who quietly endure in places where they have no freedom to worship you. May their examples of faith under fire stir us up to pray and speak boldly.

Thanks for those Peters and Johns and Pauls who went against convention and spoke in public places about who You are, fearing You and not men or what men can do to them. We are blessed because of them today, even though we are so far along the path of history.

Thanks for the examples of leaders who are easy to imitate, in that they imitate you, Jesus. They serve with joy, teach with humility and guide without prejudice or lording over us.

*Quoted James Otis in the book "Johnny Tremain" set in Boston during the period of the Revolution. A very stirring moment in the book.