The Prayer of the Fallen Soldier

As I sat in church this morning listening to the pastor deliver an incredible Memorial Day weekend message, feelings stirred inside of me that I was all too familiar with. Feelings that God was once again working in my life, trying to speak to me, to tell me something that I needed to hear; He knew what had been on my heart, and His message came through.

After a busy few weeks, I declared that I would allow my mind to be completely still for that hour today, just as I do every week... it is why I look so forward to going to church; for that quiet time where I can simply receive the blessings that will come with opening my heart to just listen and soak it all in.

With all that I do, I often play tug of war with myself... wondering what I should focus my time on... what my true purpose is with all the talents that I have been given and what is the most important. Finding the "still" in my mind has always been my biggest challenge in this powerful journey that I call life, but when I do, I hear exactly what I am supposed to hear and today was one of those moments.

The message today was about the sacrifice in surrendering, how soldiers sacrifice and surrender their lives. I thought of how they give up their wants and desires to fight for what is right, and just... what will protect and serve our country and its people .. what protects me, and you. This selflessness that so many take for granted, yet we would never know the life that we know now without those sacrifices someone else has encountered for them.

I could not help as the pastor spoke, to think of a dying soldier's last moments... those final moments where his life must flash before him. The visions they must have of family, the happy times, the warmth of the holidays and celebrations of life... all of this in that final moment when a tear rolls down their face and the last breath is taken. Not once, NOT ONCE would they think of the sacrifice they took to get here, or the bad things that life brought their way... their focus in their last moments would be only what is important... and those things are what made them happy. I thought of the call that would be delivered to that soldier's family, the honorable devastation that they would go through in being left behind and was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought of this sacrifice and what it means and gives to each and every one of us.

Tonight, I am thinking of not only our soldiers and what they so selflessly give to us each and every day, but I am also remembering that there was yet another sacrifice that so many take for granted... another sacrifice to save us... to give us the freedom of being forgiven when we fall, for we are all out here fighting a war... we are of human flesh, far from perfect, but the ultimate sacrifice was made to free us of  that bondage, to wipe us clean of all that we will inevitably do, from all that we are expected to fall into throughout our lives if we simply ASK to be cleansed and forgiven.

God knows the land mines we will cross... He knows them all and will speak to us in warning if we listen. However, all too often our own will is too strong and just like the soldier that surrenders his life for his brother and for us knowing he may die by doing so, we will sacrifice the blessings He has in store for us in order to do what we want in that moment leaving us dying inside until we learn to surrender our lives.

These two things became so relative to me and I was inspired to write this blog and call it a prayer... this literally flowed without much thought because that "little voice" told me to just sit down and type;


The Prayer of a Fallen Soldier 
© 2015 Shelley Giard 

I sacrificed for you today; my life... I had a purpose, a cause to fight for and I served for you knowing that I would not come out alive; YOU were more important than me, YOUR life is what I fought for, not mine. I was simply the one who was sent here to carry out this purpose and I hope that in the end of it all, you will remember Me; not take Me for granted and know that I am with you always.

I love all of you, I will never forget you and would die for you all over again if given the chance; I would fight for you again and again. YOU are a soldier too, just like me. You have a cause, a purpose to fight for and I hope you find that gift. My mission is done here, it is up to you to take the things that this sacrifice taught you and share it with others, let them know what it means to surrender, to do whatever it takes for the cause, to lead their lives with purpose and intent, to always stand for what is right but to lay down and surrender when life calls for that moment. If you die in that moment you will be honored and your purpose will be remembered in those moments when it is needed the most.

Don't forget what I did for you, who I am, or why I did what I did. Live each day with the freedoms my life gave to you... never forget why they are there. I love you, and it was all worth it. Know that I love you... unconditionally.  Amen




I encourage you to think about the sacrifices that have been made for YOUR life.. for YOUR purpose and begin to live each day with more meaning... with more intent and with more heart and compassion for others. Remember, we are all soldiers fighting a war;  some are just willing to sacrifice and surrender more than others.

Until next time... 

xoxo

Shells

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Miracles Happen

I am finally sitting down to write a blog post this week after missing Monday and Wednesday. Thanks to computer issues (I seriously need a new computer) I was unable to operate for two days. Hello virus, nice to meet ya! (UGH) After a little help from friends, I was able to get back online and the black screen of error prompts is no longer staring dead at me.

That is the negative of my week so far, hardly enough to overtake me, PULEASE! 

Over the past few months, I have been trying to decide when to start my second book. I was thinking early Spring (which is now) but after making the decision a month ago to bring my son home from pre-school and teach him myself before he fell WAY behind, I decided that the book would have to wait until summer. I want to be able to really focus because this book will be a bit longer than my first, and right now the first three and half hours of my day are consumed with teaching my son; THAT is high priority. So, late summer it is. As I made this choice, I wondered what I would fill my gaps with. Yes, I have gaps and yes, I know... I should fill them with relaxing, but I can't. I get bored with too much downtime and feeling like a potato is of no interest to me. I opened up my mind to receive whatever came to me and sure enough, an opportunity presented itself. Since I was "thinking" about what I could do... and praying that I would figure it out, of course, something happened.

This week, I was hired by someone to be their ghost writer. A person very much like me, who read my book and needs help writing theirs; they have been struggling with it for a while, but it HAS to be written. "How awesome!", I thought and happily accepted the offer. So yesterday, as I sifted through the notes and read what the person already had, I got excited... REALLY excited. I immediately knew the direction to take with the writings and how I could organize her thoughts, add to them, elaborate on the ideas and really bring this thing to life. It was awesome! I am using my talents to HELP someone else whose mission is to help others. Talk about full circle! 

Late last night after running three types of virus scan and ad-ware on my machine, I got rid of the black screen of prompts and began to type the introduction to my clients book. The words flowed out like water. I was completely moved how my words intertwined with hers and the result was a beautiful start to what will be an amazing book. I sent over the introduction and she responded with so much excitement. She LOVED what I had done and that was a reward in itself.

Today, I feel so close to where I am supposed to be... in fact, I truly believe I am there, surrounded by miracles happening every single day. I chuckle at the negative that tries to invade my space, and only allow it to crawl on my shoulder for a mere moment before brushing it off and carrying on; I have peace running through my veins like never before. It's a good place to be and I think I may just vacation here for a while! 

Want to come with? 

xoxo

~Shells~