It's Real

This picture truthfully causes me to tear up. These are the kinda photos that arrive in some cheesy email forward that you quickly glance at then send to your delete box without a second thought because email forwards are annoying and you have gotten about a dozen pictures so far this year that compare to it. To me, they always seem impersonal and fakely posed. This particular photo does not compare in my mind. There is a difference in this picture for me--Tim. Timmy, as I refer to him, is the soldier in the picture. He isn't just some conjured up army dude who is generic enough to slap on the front side of a Hallmark card and make people feel sad for his family and cause prayer chains to be sent without a personal connection. Tim is a good friend of my sister's, the boyfriend of her best friend, and a person who has engaged purposefully in conversation of depth and concern with me on multiple occasions because he has such an immense heart. Tim is one of the few true men that I know. He is compassionate, sweet, adventurous, friendly, and cares deeply for people. He is a guy who could join the Army not because he thought it was the manly thing to do, but because he knew that God wanted him to bring light into the dark corners of the hearts of men in the service. I have no doubt that Timmy is doing just that. I respect him incredibly for the vast devotion he has to the Lord to literally risk his life to serve God's lost sheep. What an admirable and humbling sacrifice his heart pursues. I pray for him. I hope for his safety and return in just a few short weeks. I am thankful for the courage he has, a position which so many would not find to be a possibility in their lifetime, let alone at 22-years-old. Thank you, Tim. God bless you for what you do, who you are and God bless our troops.