The Porch – Answer The Call Part 2

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-yt648-1372ff7

If we don’t respond to the calling of God to confront end times lawlessness and share the Gospel, who will? We are the chosen and faithful ones He is counting on.

If you are blessed by our teachings please write to us at theporch@firefalltalkradio.com or go to the website and use the contact button. Share with us what the Lord is doing in you and how He is changing you to inspire and encourage others.

The Porch airs every Wednesday only on Firefall Talk Radio to inspire, encourage and edify you to regain the fire of the Book of Acts Church to shake the world one last time before the Return of THE KING.

Firefall Talk Radio can be listened to live or archived with the ability to download the episodes.  Feel free to share with others as the Lord leads.

If you would like to support what we do there are ways to do so on the home page for Firefall Talk Radio. If you have a need, a praise report, or a prayer request you would like to share or want to be a part of the praying Porch Community let us know. 

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PorchLight with guest Greg Messina

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-agtyn-136d189

PorchLight is excited to have Greg Messina with us tonight. Richard Grund will chat with Greg about his powerful testimony of how the Lord changed his life. Greg is from Long Island, New York, and has a film and video production background. He has been a member of SRT, The Supernatural Response Team, since 2017 as a cameraman and production supervisor. We believe his transparency about this spiritual journey will bless you.

PorchLight is a part of Firefall Talk Radio’s effort to edify, enlighten and encourage.

If you are blessed by this please let us know by going to the website and using the contact button.

Firefall Talk Radio can be listened to live or archived with the ability to download the episodes. Feel free to share with others as the Lord leads.

If you would like to support what we do there are ways to do so on the home page for Firefall Talk Radio. If you have a need, a praise report, or a prayer request you would like to share or want to be a part of the praying Porch Community let us know.

Make sure to follow us on YouTube at The Firefall Network where the video of this interview can be found.

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The Porch – Answer The Call

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-5xnad-1368d7c

Following up on last week’s teaching Lawless Abounds – the response to end times lawlessness is the Church answering His call to serve Him and further the Kingdom of God.

If you are blessed by our teachings please write to us at theporch@firefalltalkradio.com or go to the website and use the contact button. Share with us what the Lord is doing in you and how He is changing you to inspire and encourage others.

The Porch airs every Wednesday only on Firefall Talk Radio to inspire, encourage and edify you to regain the fire of the Book of Acts Church to shake the world one last time before the Return of THE KING.

Firefall Talk Radio can be listened to live or archived with the ability to download the episodes.  Feel free to share with others as the Lord leads.

If you would like to support what we do there are ways to do so on the home page for Firefall Talk Radio. If you have a need, a praise report, or a prayer request you would like to share or want to be a part of the praying Porch Community let us know.

Make sure to follow us on YouTube at The Firefall Network 

Connect and interact with FTR on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

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The Porch – Lawlessness Abounds

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-k2hce-135f8cf

When lawlessness abounds in the end times the only answer is the Church rising up in power and righteousness to counter it.

We hope that it blesses and inspires you.  If it does please write to us at theporch@firefalltalkradio.com or go to the website and use the contact button.

The Porch airs every Wednesday only on Firefall Talk Radio to inspire, encourage and edify you to regain the fire of the Book of Acts Church to shake the world one last time before the Return of THE KING.

Firefall Talk Radio can be listened to live or archived with the ability to download the episodes.  Feel free to share with others as the Lord leads.

If you would like to support what we do there are ways to do so on the home page for Firefall Talk Radio. If you have a need, a praise report, or a prayer request you would like to share or want to be a part of the praying Porch Community let us know.

Follow us on YouTube at The Firefall Network

Connect and interact with FTR on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

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The King and I

Rodgers and Hammerstein (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) wrote a song for the production of The King and I called Getting to Know You which was sung by Anna played by Deborah Kerr.  The lyrics go like this:

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me
Getting to know you, putting it my way
But nicely
You are precisely
My cup of tea

Getting to know you
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you
Getting to know what to say

Haven’t you noticed
Suddenly I’m bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I’m learning about you
Day by day

Those lyrics in their simplicity apply to any relationship but especially a desirable one of importance.  What about a relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords?

Philippians 3:10-16 (AMP)

10 And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; 11 so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us stay true to what we have already attained.

Pursue the goal!

A spiritual goal.

A heavenly goal.

An eternal goal.

To do that there are things that have to change in you.

Your spiritual perspective must change and anything that interferes with it must be removed.

We are called by the Apostle Paul to want to get to know Him in such stunning simplicity.

Think about it.  The One who spoke the Universe into existence wants to know YOU!

We don’t have to hope that He likes us.  We know that He loves us.

Isn’t that a goal worth pursuing and obtaining?

I believe that it is, and I’ve spent the 34 plus years of being saved doing so.  And no matter how good or close it is it’s never good enough.

Paul put it very well when he wrote, 10 And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely]

To know Him more completely in a thoroughly acquainted experientially way. Not superficial or detached. Not what religion offers but what relationship gives. Intimately. Personally.

Pursue the goal every day and in every way that you can. 

Living out your own personal production of The King (of kings) and I. 

No music needed.

Richard J Grund

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New Every Morning

As the New Year 2023 begins many are making New Year’s Resolutions that they intend to keep.  At least, that’s their plan anyways.  The goals are made with good intent and positive meanings for their lives.  Whether they are emotional, financial, physical, or spiritual these resolutions come from a sincere desire to do and be better.

I remember working in the physical fitness field how busy things would get after the first of the year.  Health clubs and fitness centers bustle with new members and crowded rooms.  However, the attrition rate of those new memberships is so high that if every member of any given facility were to show up at once heath and fire codes would be violated.  Almost 40% of those who sign up will not continue with their efforts.  Facilities count on it so that they can keep selling memberships.

Life is like that as well.  We have good intentions but can’t seem to follow through and we allow those goals to slip away.  No matter how sincere we are or how much we need to finish what we start we have difficulty doing so.  I used to tell new members/clients to give me 30-days and they will see results.  90-days and they will be excitedly satisfied.  And they always were.  Yet so many just couldn’t stay the course and find what they were seeking. 

Our spiritual walk is no less of a struggle.  We make sincere efforts to change, get better and grow but the world, the flesh and the enemy get in the way.  That’s why I believe it’s a daily effort.  Our determination is a day-to-day effort.

Lamentations 3:22-24 NKJV

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”

His mercies are new every morning and we should stand on them.  Every morning we get up to new mercy and a new resolve to walk in His faithfulness.  It inspires you to spend more time with Him.  More time in His Word and more time walking in the Spirit.  We will see the fruit of the Spirit grow and the fruit of the flesh wither away. Relationship with the Lord will be the breath of your soul and the beat of your heart.  He will become a priority in your life.  The Lord will be your first thought in the morning and the last thought at night.  As we string those days together, we find ourselves living the life we’ve always wanted.  

Make 2023 that year you look back to as the turning point in your walk with the Lord.

Richard J Grund

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Word for 2023

Right about now a slew of “words” are being given about 2023.

Those words may or may not be from the Lord or inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The only way to know is if:

A: They line up with the Word.

B: They come true.

You must have both of those to confirm an accurate Word.

Too many share feelings, emotions, thoughts and even manipulation then lay the Lord’s Name on it.

Biblical prophets told the truth.  No matter what it was. They were there to offer correction, a warning and confirmation of what the Lord was doing or going to do.

I can only share what I believe the Lord is telling me.

Time and the Holy Spirit will tell if it’s true or not.

I believe that it is, or I wouldn’t share it.

This word comes from prayer and confirmation from praying with my fellow SRT member and brother in the Lord Larry Barrett.

This week on The Porch the Lord had me give a teaching and an admonition to Keep Going. You can find it on Firefall Talk Radio either on firefalltalkradio.com or one of the streaming platforms we are on.

The Word for 2023 ties into the encouragement to keep going.

If you are going to keep going you must press on and persevere against everything this world and or the enemy throws at you.

If you thought 2022 was bad 2023 won’t be any better. In fact, it will be worse. The powers of darkness are emboldened in their efforts to destroy the Church and to destroy everything good and righteous.  The people that serve the powers of darkness do not believe that they can be stopped or even slowed down.  And they are right.  Nothing we do in the natural will do that.  

No person, social or political act will do that. No one is going to save us. Only the Lord can change things.  He is our only hope. No man, woman, politician, program or fallen world system will change things.

And, I do not believe that the Lord is going to either.

He is allowing these things to happen.

The Book of Acts Church, our foundation, understood this and kept going.

2 Corinthians 4:3-7 3 And even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they might not see the light of the Good News of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Messiah Yeshua as Lord—and ourselves as your slaves for Yeshua’s sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not from ourselves.

For too long the Church (people not a building) have abdicated, their responsibility and therefore their authority.  We’ve looked to people instead of the Lord and instead of acting upon His declaration to go and do in His Name.  We are His agents of change.

It’s His great power not ours that gets things done.

We change things by changing people one at a time. Getting them saved, healed, and delivered. Discipling them and helping them to do the same for others.

The Word tells us things will get worse and worse before the Lord Returns. The Lord Himself told us that would be the case.

The darker it gets the brighter we shine, and the more people can see that Light.

No, brother and sisters, 2023 will be worse in the natural but greater in the Spirit.

It’s time for the “greater works” that the Lord spoke about in John 14:12.

The same Spirit that raised the Lord from the grave is inside of you and ready to work with you to get the job done.  Where you focus your attention will determine that work. 

If you want your ears tickled and told everything is going to be okay that’s your choice.   There are plenty of ear ticklers out there to fill that need. But, if you are a part of the Remnant that has shaken off the bonds of religion and the worship of men, 2023 is your year to rise up.  You are not alone.  There are other spiritual guerrilla fighters in the homes, coffee shops and meeting rooms who have forsaken denominationalism and sectarianism to be a part of THE Body of Messiah alone.  

WE ARE THE CHURCH.  HIS CHURCH.

WE ARE EMPOWERED WITH ALL OF THE AUTHORITY OF HEAVEN GIVEN TO US BY THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

WE KNOW THAT WE WIN.

Never forget that the enemy believes that they are the ones that win. They are not afraid of us and will not relent until they are subjected and imprisoned. They have been preparing for this moment for millennia and we cannot underestimate their commitment to their cause.

Dig your heels in and stand. Press in together. Share your shields and cover one another. Have each other’s back. Sword of the Spirit in hand. Word of the Lord in our minds. Name of the Lord on our lips.

Go set the captives free in His Name. Change people and society changes.

Get into The Word and get The Word inside of you.

Fall in deeper love with the Lord and regain His love for the lost and dying.

Set your mind on things above and not things on the Earth.

Set your heart upon Him.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12 We are hard pressed in every way, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may also be revealed in our mortal body. 11 For we who live are always being handed over to death for Yeshua’s sake, so that the life of Yeshua may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

The Book of Acts Church knew what it would take to fulfill the calling.

Let’s make 2023 the year that world sees the Book of Acts Church in action again.

Let them say about us what was said then, those who have turned the world upside down are here.

Let’s shake the world one last time before the Return of the King.

RISE UP REMNANT.  

RISE UP!

Richard J Grund

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Period of Adjustment

Life is filled with moments of change that require a period of adjustment. We don’t really think of them until we are immersed in a new one. Then all the others to mind. They hold lessons, insights and comfort to get us through the next. We are in another one of them right now.

A few days ago one of our furry kids went over the rainbow bridge to be with her brothers and sisters. Sarah was with us for almost 13 years and was deeply entangled into our lives. Her last years involved a regimen of medicine, food and extra attention. She needed and deserved extra attention. Making sure she got the chance to go out within a certain time window gave us our schedule and traveling limitations. And we did it gladly with loving attention. Now all of that has changed.

As I thought about that I realized that life is full of periods of adjustment where the patterns we establish to ease our lives must be dismantled as we heal. And it’s not just the loss of a furry kid which some of you call pets. It happens in all parts of our lives that experience loss. I remember when my mother passed away in 2015 after suffering from lung disease in the latter part of her life. Helping her involved regularly scheduled chores locked into my daily schedule. When she died all that abruptly ended. It took a while to disentangle from the feeling of expectation and obligation to do them. Worse was the sudden realization that I was no longer needed to do them.

Even the happier patterns take time to adjust from. It’s not just the obligations. It’s the acts of love and affection that followed an event or experience. Wanting to pick up the phone to call at a certain time for that special reason gets stopped in tracks with the realization that there is no one to answer your cal. And the sting of their absence pricks the healing heart one more time to open the wound. I believe that’s why the healing take so long. The same love that doesn’t let you forget becomes the stinging reminder of their absence. The love never ends and you never stop missing them. You don’t want it too. It’s the periods of adjustment that allows you to go on.

Life is about making adjustments. We can never be so rigid that we cannot roll with the waves of tragedy and regret. The winds of adversity will always blow in our lives. We must deal with them with the same peaceful calm we deal with the days of sunshine. I try to remember that as we adjust from the loss of our tail thumping baby girl Sarah. The sadness that occurs from not seeing her laying in her spot or on her bed will diminish over time. Becoming shadows of a moment in time to bring a smile to our face. The memories of her antics or unique personality will take precedence over the sadness we feel now.

Allowing yourself the time to grieve and to adjust to their absence is vital. It will allow you to heal and to memorialize them in your heart. Though they take a piece of your heart when gone they leave so much love in what’s left of that heart. Don’t block out the feelings. Deal with them. Give them their rightful place on the shelf of life experiences. We truly do live and learn and then live some more. And then one day our final period of adjustment will come. One last time.

Revelation 21: 4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Richard J Grund

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The Silent Tail

Early mornings become a ritual of actions. You get up. Go to the bathroom. Hopefully after you get out of bed. Turn off the alarm. And then it’s time to take out the dogs. This morning was no different.  Except it meant taking out one dog instead of two. 

Our older Rottie girl Sarah left us yesterday. Her almost 13 years of life ran out of time. Actually her body ran out of time. She left peacefully with all of us, including her furry brother Mac, at her side. Touching her. Kissing her. Sending her off over the Rainbow Bridge to her furry  brothers and sisters. She must have been so excited to see them that her feet were running as she slipped into rest. She was ready to get out of that broken body even if we were not ready to let her go. You never are. It’s never enough time. 

Laying on the floor with her as she relaxed before her journey I leaned close to kiss her on her face and she laid her chin in my hand one last time. It was if she was telling me it’s okay. Thank you for a good life with lots of love, petting, kissing and treats. And then she left. Running pain free with Bo and Judah who were waiting for her. We think she saw them and her feet were running before she was was free to join them. They introduced her to the family of furry kids, dogs and cats, who all have a piece of our heart. Eleven others in total. She probably got so excited that she started to bark as she was prone to do when excited. Bo taught her that. She carried on his tradition with zeal and fervor. 

It will be quieter now. No barking. No thumping of her tail when she got excited. And boy did it thump. It was a power tail wag. She would see you coming and you would get that tail wag. It didn’t matter if she had just seen you a short time earlier to her it was a new moment for her and the tail wagged. It always brought a smile to my face and a loving pat on her face.  I would know when my wife Deb was up as Sarah’s tail would wag against the nearest object in an excited good morning greeting. Over the last two days the tail wags became less and less. Sometimes not at all. Silence was setting in. And now that tail is silent. And yet, as I write this I can hear it in my heart. I will smile every time I do and for a while shed a tear. Okay, a lot of tears. There was a lot of tail wagging. A lot of loving memories. And I believe that someday I will see that tail wag again. What sight that will be be. 

Richard J Grund

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Memorial Day Memories

Growing up, Memorial Day was a special day in my family. As the children and grandchildren of Italian immigrants, we felt strongly and emotionally about America. Although I remember that it was filled with family get-togethers, barbecues, and watching the NY Yankee Doubleheader on a TV brought outside, we always took time to remember the soldiers who gave their lives serving our country. Many of the men in my family served in the military in some capacity during their youth. No one that I know of saw actual combat.

It was a childhood dream to be a soldier. I’d grown up on the war movies that Hollywood churned out in the 1950s and 1960s. For as long as I can remember, I was a patriot. My childhood hero was Captain America. God, country and the red, white, and blue was ingrained in me. I grew up during the Vietnam War. I only knew what I saw on television and had no clue what was really going on over there. I remember the beginning of the anti-war sentiment in our country. I was one of the few in my high school class who believed in “America, love it or leave it.” My verbal battles with other classmates over the topic would get heated. It earned me the nickname Captain America and I wore it proudly. Little did I know that the America I loved and the real, behind-the-scenes government were two different things. That would come later in my life.

When they started the draft for the Vietnam War, it wasn’t something I was concerned about. I wouldn’t be 18 in time to be drafted. This conflict with poor, backward Vietnam wasn’t supposed to go on long. We would go in, mop them up and send the boys home as the movies showed. But it did drag on. We were fighting a people for their country in a war zone we did not understand nor belonged in. It’s one thing to fight for an ideal. The North Vietnamese were fighting for themselves, for their homes and land. This wasn’t Hollywood, and the forces behind the scenes were fighting a different War than what we were told. This was America vs the Soviet Union. Three million lives were lost, including 58,000 Americans, only to have President Nixon order a withdrawal just as the North Vietnamese were getting ready to quit. This wasn’t a Hollywood movie. This was jarringly real life.

A friend of my cousin Bobby got drafted and sent to Vietnam. His name was Monty. Monty was one of the cool guys. All the girls loved him. He was someone I admired and trusted. About a year or two after he was shipped off to Vietnam, I bumped into him at the park we gathered to play basketball every day until the sun went down. And then we would sit on the park benches until it was time to go home. Frank Gorman Park in Jackson Heights was blocks from my home, and I practically lived there in the summer. I had gotten to the park before everyone else and looked for a bench in the shade to wait when I saw Monty shuffling by. I almost didn’t recognize him. He was gaunt, and his clothes hung on him. The good looks were gone, and the face the girls loved was sunken and sad. I called out his name. He looked at me blankly until I reminded him that I was Bobby’s cousin. He hadn’t seen me in a while, and we both had changed a lot since then. It felt good when he remembered me.

Monty strolled over to my bench and sat with me. He asked if I had a cigarette, and I told him that I didn’t smoke. He said, “Good! Don’t start!!” And then he said something I didn’t expect. He said, “And don’t let them send you to Vietnam either!” When I asked him why he told me his story of being drafted and immediately being shipped off to Vietnam. By the tail end of the Vietnam war, we were sending our boys over there in droves as quickly as possible. Young men have always been cannon fodder in war, and this one was no different. He told me about the harsh conditions, the drugs that flowed to keep soldiers from losing their minds, and the unending fighting with an adversary they were ill-equipped to engage. I sat and listened to a story that I’ve now seen told by others as well. He told me that if it looked like I would get drafted into the Army to go and join the Marines because at least they will teach you how to fight. When I asked about how thin he was, he simply said that another thing he brought back from Vietnam was heroin addiction. This shocked me because when the needle was being passed among my cousin and his friends in the 1960’s Monty abstained. He never gave in to the peer pressure to shoot up. This turn of events has always saddened me because almost all of my cousin’s friends succumbed to the needle and are gone. Some overdosed, and some died the slow death of a junkie to have AIDS claim them in the 1980s. Shared needles led to shared addictions and death.

Monty must have been tired from telling his story or just needed to crash somewhere because he had fallen asleep right in the middle of our chat. I gently laid him down on the bench and took the jacket wrapped around his waist to cover him up. By that time, my friends were rolling into the park, and the basketball was bouncing. I ran off to join them, and full court basketball began. After the first game, I looked over to see how Monty was doing, but he was gone. I never saw Monty again. I have no idea if he turned his life around or not. I don’t remember his last name, or I would use social media to find out what happened to him. Needless to say, that my encounter with Monty began the crack in my view of the war and America. It would take decades later that the harsh reality of powerful men profiting off of the pain of war and sending young men to clean their messes would come to light. I’ve learned that not all have the dim view and bad experience that Monty had, but many did. Books have been written about it. My feelings about Vietnam culminated when the last draft was broadcast on television. We were sitting around the television as they broadcast the selection of birthdates for the next draft. The first birthday that came up was mine. Even though I knew that I was a year away from being draft-eligible it hit me in the gut. I looked over at my mother and she was pale. I broke the tension in the room but saying, “For once I am glad that I am NOT 18!” The draft ended not too long after that and the Vietnam was did as well. Unfortunately, my desire to be in the military did not.

In the summer of 1975, I remember a few of my friends being on the kick to join the Navy. While being in the Navy wasn’t a dream of mine, I went with them to speak to the recruiter anyway. I explained to him my desire to be a Marine, and he said he could give my application over to his friend who was a recruiter for the Marines with his recommendation if I wanted. I didn’t know if he meant that or not or would try to convince me to sign with him. But I said yes, and we began the interview. It wasn’t long into the interview that it was revealed that I was nearsighted, my glasses gave that way, suffered from hearing loss and severe allergies. He said that my physical condition and interview with him and his recommendation would probably get me into the service, but I would be stuck behind a desk or in a warehouse somewhere due to my health issues.

Knowing what I know now, I shouldn’t have let that bother me, but at that point, I wanted more than that. Sitting behind a desk or in a warehouse wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted action and to fight. He told me to sleep on it, discuss it with my parents and then come back. Even though I was of the age to choose for myself, he wanted to make sure my family agreed. I’ve always wondered if that was him or the Lord inspiring him to say that. That night I told my mother what I had done and found out quickly that she disagreed. She vehemently disagreed. Being the good Italian boy, upsetting my mother was not something I would or could do. When I told my friends that I wasn’t signing up, they didn’t either. It turned out that no one’s family took the news well. Had we gone together, we may have defied our families, but once I said no, the entire plan fell apart.

Life took over after that. The opportunity and desire to be in the military faded away. Looking back now I realize that I would have done well in the military and the camaraderie I see among the military was something I would have enjoyed. I am envious of it when I see it. However, the Lord had a different plan for my life, and going off to even for just a few years in the military would have short-circuited those plans. Having friends and associates who did make the military a career, I have lived it vicariously through them. So, every Memorial Day, I think of what might have been and of those who did serve that didn’t make it home. I think of the many soldiers like Monty who did come back but died a slow death from their experience. I think of the number of broken men and women who came back from the Middle East never to be the same again. In a way, they did lose their life on the battlefield even though their hearts kept beating. I’ve looked into the eyes of young twentysomething men who left a part of the heart and soul in the dust and sand of Iraq or Afghanistan or the jungles of Vietnam. But for the grace of God, that could have been me.

I also think of the politicians and hidden figures who create monsters and then send Americans to kill or capture them. These men create the Noriega’s, Hussein’s and Bin Laden’s of the world and then send Americans to clean up their mess. When you do the research and find out the truth, your eyes cannot help but to be opened. War is about profit and power. Their profit and their power. I think of them on Memorial Day and pray that when they stand before Almighty God, He shows them every life lost or ruined by their evil actions. I pray that He holds them accountable for their actions because I know that this world never will.

We should hold no malice or anger toward those who did what they thought was right for America by serving in the Armed Forces. Politics and patriotism can be mutually exclusive if we allow it. Many did so without knowing the truth. Under different circumstances, I would have been one of them. They did what was right, and many would do it again. I will not revile or attack them for being used and abused. I will see their service and sacrifice and honor them. No, there is no need to pile on to their pain or the pain of their families. We should take better care of the ones that made it back, and unfortunately, we do not. I’ve heard a number say that they wished that they had died on the battlefield. I honor the ones today who gave their all and fly my American flag proudly for them and for the America that we can be. I wish that I could tell them “Thank You” like I do when I see veterans in airports or supermarkets. I wish I could acknowledge them as I do the Viet Nam veterans when I cross their paths. So, I do that today and every day that they come to mind. You should too.

Richard J Grund

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