MILITARY MONDAY: A Resolution of Gratitude

Unless you are a military family or you know someone serving in the military it is easy to forget, amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, that there are thousands of men and women away from their families, friends and loved ones.

They give up more than just the comforts we attribute to home.             

They sacrifice by putting their jobs, their dreams and their goals on “hold” to go and defend our freedom.  Some sacrifice with their very lives.

How can we begin to say ‘thanks’ for everything our military personnel and their families do for us?  As I began to research this, I was pleased to discover hundreds of online avenues specifically designed for reaching out to our military and their families.  I’ve shared some of these links below.

One of the simplest methods of gratefulness is simply to acknowledge their service when you encounter a man or woman in uniform.  At the airport, the grocery store, at church, at the little league game or in your neighborhood… wherever you meet… extend a handshake and utter the words “thank you.”  Sometimes a simple acknowledgement means everything.

Here are some other ideas to reach out and show your gratitude:

OPERATION GRATITUDE

Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that sends care packages to the troops. The packages contain food, personal hygiene items, handmade crafts and other goods that might bring a smile to a soldier's face. Their website outlines many ways in which you can help, from donations, to drives, to actually crafting some of the items yourself.  This means of showing thanks can be as simple as a few clicks for a monetary donation, or as involved as organizing event in your community.  The level of commitment is up to you, but the goodwill generated is universal.

http://www.opgratitude.com/index.php

LET’S SAY THANKS

I wrote about this website previously, but wanted to include it again.  It’s a simple and wonderful way to extend your gratitude.

http://www.letssaythanks.com

A MILLION THANKS

This is another website that does a great job at making it easy to reach out to our troops, with a simple card, donation, care package, etc. 

http://www.amillionthanks.org/

If you know a military family...make it a New Year's Resolution to reach out to them this year.  Support them through words of gratitude and acts of kindness.  The sacrifice they make every hour of every day is greater than we can ever imagine.  To all of our military personnel and their families... THANK YOU and may God bless you in more ways than you could ever dream possible.