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I struggled mightily with this assignment. My temptation was to multiply this money and then put it to use. I had a high degree of confidence that I could do that if I had the time to commit to it. Ultimately I decided that I did not have the time to multiply the funds so I chose to do something that I have wanted to do for the past year or so but never did.
I have long felt that among the many things that we take for granted in this country are our public servants-specifically members of our armed forces, police, fire and medics. I firmly believe that just a simple, unsolicited "Thank You" makes a world of difference for these people. I was in Fayetteville, NC on business last year and saw many soldiers in town as you might imagine. As I watched these people go about their business, I began to think deeper than I might normally think. I began to see husbands and wives preparing to leave each other and their children for extended periods of time. I began to think about how that would affect my family if one of us had to leave for a year.
I saw sons and daughters and fiancés and brothers and sisters instead of soldiers. I knew that some of these sons and daughters and husbands and wives would not come back. I knew that they may leave widows or fatherless children. This got me thinking about what our police men and women have to endure. It made me think about what fire fighters risk and medics too. Many of us see the police as “enemies” (so to speak) as someone who is trying to catch us speeding while we desperately try to get somewhere on time. Most times we don’t see the police as someone who may be dragged along side of a car he or she stopped for speeding or someone who is likely to be shot at while trying to keep the rest of us safe.
I walked up to a couple of soldiers at a convenience store while on my trip in Fayetteville and reached out my hand and shook theirs while saying "Thank You" and nothing more. They of course politely responded with firm handshakes by saying "Thank You, Sir". It seemed to me that they were thanking me, for thanking them. Something in their eyes seemed to say. “I understand that you understand what we risk, and we appreciate you taking the 5 seconds to tell us.” It made me feel terrific, and I hope that it made them feel good too. So...out of all of that comes this:
I used the $100.00 to create a few thousand business card sized Thank You cards. There are branches of the armed forces, police, fire, medic listed on the front. On the back is a brief "thank you" message which endeavors to let these people know that we understand the risks that they take and the sacrifices they make, many in the name of keeping all of us safe. I consulted with a Lt. Col. in the army who thought that this idea was a good one and would really make these people feel good if they were to receive such a "thank you" message. I should have 2,500 of these cards available to bring to church on Kingdom Assignment Sunday.
Thank you for allowing me to participate in this.
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