She was tall, blonde, blue-eyed and lived in a tiny town in Austria.
My nana was a beauty and a sweetheart. Having lived her entire life in this small European town, she often wondered what the rest of the world was like.
Marriage was probably her best hope of leaving her small Austria town, the only problem, there were no eligible men to marry.
Little did she know that God would bring someone halfway across the world to sweep her off of her feet and bring her to America! Yep, that’s my grandpa. My grandpa was serving in the US Military and was assigned to her small Austrian town.
Little did either of them know that they would soon meet and fall in love.
Long story short, my nana and grandpa fell in love and moved back to America and that’s ultimately how I ended up here in America.
As I look through my family tree, I see several amazing men who were willing to sacrifice all and join the US military. Not knowing where that choice would ultimately take them, they were willing (for the sake of their country, The United States of America, and for the freedom of the people they loved) to give up their lives.
Although both of my grandpas and my oldest brother served in the US military and were willing to make that ultimate sacrifice for their country, none of them ended up having to do that.
Even still, I am so grateful.
I am grateful for them and every other man and woman who has sacrificed for the sake of our great country and our freedom. I know that there are so many men and women who have given up their lives in battle. Men and women who have sacrificed so much of their lives for the sake of our freedom. Men and women who have sacrificed in ways that I can’t even imagine.
On behalf of me and the Girl Defined Sisterhood, thank you!
If you (or someone you love) serves or served in the military, please comment below letting us know. We would love to express our gratitude!
When you think about all of the courageous men and women who have served in the military, isn’t it amazing that they are willing to make such huge sacrifices for their country and their freedom? Isn’t it amazing that they put others before themselves and sacrifice for those that they don’t even personally know?
This should cause us to stop and think.
If these men and women are willing to make such huge sacrifices for their country, shouldn’t we (as Christian women) be more than willing to surrender our lives to Christ and sacrifice for the sake of the gospel?
- Shouldn’t we view our lives as living all in for Christ?
- Shouldn’t we view ourselves as ambassadors of Christ?
- Shouldn’t we view God’s Word as our “military orders” and know it more fully?
- Shouldn’t we be willing to love and sacrifice for those around us?
- Shouldn’t we better represent our King and point others to Him?
I don’t know about you, but the thought of surrendering all is a hard thought to swallow. Living for Someone other than myself isn’t an easy thing to do. It’s hard to sacrifice for others. It’s hard to give up my time for others. It’s hard to put others first.
We need to look to the lives of the faithful men and women of our military as an example.
Just like they are willing to surrender all for our nation and freedom, we should be willing to surrender all for the sake of Christ.
What’s keeping you from surrendering all to Christ?
My prayer is that each one of us would take some time today to listen to this song “I Surrender All” and make it our personal prayer.