Just a Reminder

My friends Mindi and Kevin are going to be separated for ten months. Their three children growing and changing while he is away. He left yesterday. Kevin is going to Iraq. I must admit that I didn't think about the war in Iraq very much before I knew Kevin was going.

You see they are are friends in real life too. They came to Michigan on vacation and we had a great visit. Chris and Mindi and I were at WVU together while Kevin was in the military. They got married and then Chris and I got married. We all ended up in Columbus, IN as neighbors. Because God works that way. Mindi and I got horses and boarded them at the same place. Chris and Kevin built us an arena. Then we moved the horses to a new barn. We have history.

So now I think about Iraq via Mindi and her blog alot. And I pray about the war and the soldiers and their families through the lens of Mindi's heart and her camera. And sometimes, fewer than I like, I remember to thank her for giving this country her husband and her children's father for this time. I thank her for taking on this burden of loneliness, anxiety, and pain for our country. And I thank Kevin for his courage and his sacrifice, for leaving his heart here to go fight for another people's freedom. And as I thank them, I cry for them.