Freedom.
What does it mean to you?
Rights?
Entitlement? Ability?
Choices? Abandon?
No boundaries?
Life? Death?
Sacrifice? Desire?
God given? Divorce?
Empty nest? Debt?
Debt free?
Power? Privilege? Immunity?
Flexibility? Discretion?
Recklessness?
Liberty? Spontaneity?
One word.
So many interpretations.
So many ways it can be taken for granted.
So many ways it can be abused.
And here, this one simple picture doesn't begin to tell you how I feel about it on my first day of retirement.
Yup, you read that right. As of today, I am officially retired from the Michigan Army National Guard and my 16.5 years of service has ended early due to medically not being able to do my job.
I have been trying to hold myself together and not melt into a puddle of tears all day long and then two things happen.
1- a friend I was confiding in said that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us through his life so that we may live and a Soldier does the same thing so that Americans can live with freedom.
2- my daughter surprised me at the checkout lane in Hardings with roses with the label of "Freedom" on them because today was not going to go by without a celebration of my retirement.
Yesterday, I deleted all of my summer drills and annual training off of my cozi calendar and instantly saw how much more time I get to spend with my family and friends.
Freedom.
At my job that I really enjoy with people that I like, my children are able to walk over after school and hang out with me for a bit.
Freedom.
Memorial Weekend my family and some good friends were able to go camping where ever we wanted to because of
Freedom.
Because of these men, my family was able to visit an island rich with Michigan history and pay honor to their ultimate sacrifice.
Freedom.
So many times I question who I am and where I am going in life. Before today, I would say:
I am a:
Christian
Wife
Mother
Friend
Soldier
Always in that order.
I often feel that I don't deserve any of them, well, because, I really don't, no one does.
Then today, on my way home, pouting about tomorrow and worrying about things that I can't control, I heard a song I have heard several times but needed to hear again.
Hello, my name is regret
I'm pretty sure we have met
Every single day of your life
I'm the whisper inside
That won't let you forget
Hello, my name is defeat
I know you recognize me
Just when you think you can win
I'll drag you right back down again
'Til you've lost all belief
These are the voices, these are the lies
And I have believed them, for the very last time
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I've been saved, I've been changed, and I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I am no longer defined
By all the wreckage behind
The one who makes all things new
Has proven it's true
Just take a look at my life
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I've been saved, I've been changed, and I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
What love the Father has lavished upon us
That we should be called His children
I am a child of the one true King
What love the Father has lavished upon us
That we should be called His children
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I've been saved, I've been changed, and I have been set free
"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing
Hello, my name is child of the one true King
I am a child of the one true King
Freedom.
I may never be a Soldier again, but I will always be a patriotic woman who truly loves the country that gives her the freedom to worship, travel, read, listen to music, write what I want, be the parent I feel God wants me to be, to be the wife my husband needs, and to be a child of the ONE true King.
That is Freedom.
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