RPBrown wrote:Amen. With your permission, I would like to share this.
This is the original essay signed by original author:
TAKE A KNEE
Take a little trip to Valley Forge in January. If you don't know where that is, just Google it from the sidelines. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle, so just wait your turn. Take your cleats and socks off to get a real experience. Then take a knee.
Then, take one at the beach in Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, even as the one in front of him was shot to pieces...the very sea stained with American blood. The only blockers most had were the dead bodies in front of them, riddled with bullets from enemy fire.
Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. from Khe San to Saigon... Anywhere will do. REAL Americans died in all those jungles. There was no playbook that told them what was next, but they knew what flag they represented. When they came home, they were protested as well..and spit on for reasons only cowards know.
Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat... Wear your Kevlar helmet and battle dress... Your number won't be printed on it unless your number is up! You'll need to stay hydrated but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. You're on your own.
There's a lot of places to take a knee. Real Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your displeasure, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled a sea of it defending your liberty.
While you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on a manicured lawn striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of ground taken...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest.
No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women...delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us...blazing a path so you would have 'the right to take a knee.'
You haven't an inkling what it took to get you where you are; but your 'protest' is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation of real heroes, it serves the purpose of pointing to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your jersey is issued to another...
If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all...because He is the one who provides those things.
And there will be no protest. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave It goes like this...
"GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
by Stanislaus Drew
And here is another post by same author on same topic:
We stand!
© by Stanislaus Drew.
Thinking back on it, he knows he was spared. Divine intervention....nothing else explains it... It all happened so freakin' fast. One second he was riding along observing the barren countryside, the next there's smoke and fuel and shrapnel...then the silence...nothing but a ringing and an indescribable, surreal presence...completely disoriented...until he saw Dee. He looked pretty bad. He scrambled towards him and prayed for the first time in years... "Lord, please...Not Dee!"
There's no way to really prepare for the explosion. The concussion sucks the breath out of you and suddenly you're choking on sand...He dreams about that still but not as often. He's thankful it seems to be slowly going away. He believes he may be sweating it out at night. He's trying to take less medication but he still needs it in order to sleep. It's a raging battle in and of itself.
It's morning again. He looks over into the next bed and sees again what's left of Sargeant Delgado's face. The bandages are clean this morning... a good sign. He's had so many surgeries...Too many in fact...but Delgado, gives him the usual morning thumbs up. He still can't talk but he's getting there...Good man, Dee...determined, courageous as always.
He's thankful he threw his hand up to protect his own face. He quickly dismisses that thought out of mostly guilt. "Dee" was driving the Humvee and got most of the initial blast. That was the intent of the i.e.d. They bury them high enough in the sand so that they do maximum damage to the face and hands, demons that they are.
The ghost pain still travels through the entire length of his arm, even though he can see the prosthesis. He wonders if he'll ever figure out how to tie his shoes or bait a hook...but the thought disappears when he sees his son run into the room...jumping on the bed and hugging his dad like there's no tomorrow. No one knows how to shelter him. He's seen and heard so much since his dad first came home. He hopes he doesn't grow up too fast. Man, he loves this kid! Some days, he's all he's got to think about.
His wife is close behind, saying hello to all the nurses and checking his chart to make sure everything is on the up and up...She asks them how he slept and listens intently to the response. She's good like that. What a gift from God she is!
His mom is coming in from the chapel as she has every day since he's been here. She goes to Delgado's bed first and holds his good hand. Everyone knows she's praying. The room is still. They all take a moment.
It's game day. His Steelers are playing the Jaguars. He's seen the schedule and he knows... but as he has for the past few weeks, Dee's dad walks across the room and turns off the T. V. No one complains. The memorial for Lieutenant Parker is still fresh in their minds. They can't just let the protests ride... Not anymore...
They all bow their heads together as "Papa Dee" says his daily prayer and thanks Almighty God for each of their lives. He prays for the doctors and nurses. They hear his prayer. He remembers the "L.T." and prays for comfort for the family. How could he take his own life? He was the best of them...always laughing and cheering them on... His injuries weren't that bad... It was the ones you couldn't see that took him. At the end of the prayer, there's a nod of agreement and an audible "Amen"...
It is what they've come to understand. They were spared by the good graces of God Almighty. They'll tell their story soon enough, God willing...It's a tough road back but they're gonna make it because they have to! They've seen what happens to moms and wives and children when they lose their protector.
From now on, they'll stand for that flag everytime it's displayed. They'll stand because they know what honor is. They'll stand because they've seen the enemy. They'll stand because they served...Theyll stand in memory of Lieutenant Andrew Parker. They'll stand because they must!...They'll stand because a lot of lives depend on them. It's what they do!
Because they stand, America stands. unwavering and united against whatever enemy chooses to come against her. Surely God still blesses America. It is by His hand we exist. It is because of these courageous, young lions in her service that Americans can still say
"UNITED WE..........STAND!
Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
by Stanislaus Drew