My American Soldier

As I was driving into work this morning, I heard the solemn announcement that President Obama is sending 17,000 troops into Afghanistan. My heart sank. I am the mother of an American soldier who is safely in Alaska who now will be deployed into an unsettled, deadly abyss. A sense of urgency overcame me as I frantically tried to text him. He told me that he was being deployed at the end of this month, but has he already gone? Panic started to engulf me as I prayed that I didn’t miss the last opportunity I had to talk with him. Then I wondered if he knew…

Did he know that he has brought more joy to my life than I had ever imagined?

Did he know that I fell in love with him the first time I ever heard his heartbeat inside me?

Did he know that he was the most wonderful little boy and I was so proud of his awesome hair?

Did he know that I was also proud of so many other things. I am proud of the leader that he is. I am proud of the courage that he has. I am proud that he left his family to jump into an unknown world of the army and give it all he has. I am proud that he knows who he is. I am proud that he married the most beautiful girl. I am proud that he recognizes his mistakes and becomes a better person learning from them. I am proud that he has the guts to jump out of an airplane with a little bit of fabric strapped on his back (he definitely doesn’t get that courage from me). I am proud that he has gone through all the things that I know about and the hundreds of other things that I don’t know about and had the courage come through it.

I am amazed at the man that he has become. I am proud that he is a soldier, but not just that. I am proud of all the other things he is besides a soldier. He is a son, a grandson, a husband, a nephew, a cousin, a son-in-law, a brother-in-law, but most of all, he is a son of a Heavenly Father who loves him and is even more proud than I am.

So, as I pulled into my parking spot at work, I wondered if he knew.