The Spirit of America

Today was pretty good. This morning I got up and went with a couple of the gals from my church small group to stuff care packages for the soldiers. That was a great project, and it was fun. There were nice letters from random people across America, sending well-wishes and thanks to the soldiers. Only one was weird and needed to be thrown out. Some were written in Spanish! It was touching to read the letters as I folded them for the packages - some were bittersweet, hoping that their letter would reach their loved one over in Iraq. The whole care package/stuffing party is a glimpse into the beauty of the American spirit. It is the cameraderie that comes with empathy and shared sacrifices; people volunteering to come together and do something for others...people understanding the cost of their freedom, even at great cost to themsleves: the expense of a loved one. It was personally satisfying to participate in this project, and I hope to do more. I already served my time in the military, but I have classmates and friends that are still exposed to the dangers in Iraq. If a bag that I helped to stuff reaches one of them and touches their heart, it would be serendipitous indeed. I hope they all come home soon. God bless America. We sure need it.