Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Give Thanks -- Peace

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I was thinking about peace and realized how self-centered I was being. Sure, I can say thanks for peace because I am not deployed to some far off land where people are trying to kill me on a daily basis which is what many of our military and DoD civilians are facing as this holiday season approaches.

I am insulated from the violence and anarchy in those not so far away lands of Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran and anywhere else unrest happens on a near daily basis. I do not have to deal with the death and destruction and chaos that the people living in these places have to do. They, I believe, long for the peace that I experience on a daily basis.

I wake in the morning in a comfortable bed in a warm home with the prospect of fighting nothing more dangerous than Maryland drivers on the parkway. My closest contact with the Taliban is the news.

In my world, there is peace and it is a blessing. Peace is something that I do not think much about because I have it and it is a constant. In other parts of the world, peace is something they wish and pray for.

Because there is peace, I can focus on other aspects of life and living without fear. Peace helps me not to be afraid to live.

The real blessing of peace is in those who are on the frontlines around the world to preserve peace and our way of life. They are a blessing to each of us--and we need to remember them and to pray for them.

And we need to consider the gift that they give us--peace.

--Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

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