What are you thankful for regarding the topic of salvation?  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding the topic of salvation, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.

What are you thankful for regarding the topic of people?  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding the topic of people, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.

By Sandra Lee, Praxis @ Gracepoint Berkeley

In 2009, I, along with most of my peer sisters turned 30.  If you had asked me when I was a teenager what I would be doing at this juncture of my life, I would have just said, “Is there life after 30???!”  But yes, there is life and I have experienced it to be full because of the friendships I have and am loved by.  When I think back to when I first met my friends in freshman year of college, I remember the drama, the awkwardness, the roommate squabbles we had and then our leaders helping us to reconcile our differences (whether it be about sleeping hours or hygiene J).   And now 12 years later, I’m amazed that we’re here and we’re serving in different ministries, loving the younger ones and being older sisters…and some of us are even moms!

What are you thankful for regarding the topic of church?  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding the topic of church, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.

What are you thankful for regarding the topic of nature?  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding the topic of nature, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.

What are you thankful for regarding the topic of material/physical blessings?  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding the topic of material/physical blessings, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.

Veteran’s Day is coming up.  It’s on November 11th.  To be honest, it was only after coming to Gracepoint over 20 years ago that I developed an appreciation for our veterans (I know, it’s pretty sad).  Over the years, I heard Pastor Ed Kang always talk about our war veterans and about how he’s come to appreciate them, especially the ones who fought in the Korean War. “If it weren’t for them,” Pastor Ed said, “I wouldn’t be here.”  It’s so true.  And you know, I wouldn’t be here either.

My appreciation for our veterans reached new heights as I travelled to Washington D.C. this summer with the Acts2Fellowship Blue Seniors.  We spent five days at our country’s capital, visiting the White House, the Capitol building, the Smithsonian, the Holocaust Museum and, or course, the War Memorials.  Even though this was my fourth visit to D.C., I had never gone to Arlington National Cemetary.  So, I made it a point to tell Judge Hensley, who organized our trip and who is now serving as a staff intern at Gracepoint Austin, to make sure we planned a visit to Arlington.  And we did.  And I was overwhelmed.

I was overwhelmed as I walked with hundreds of others up the rolling hills that once used to belong to General Robert Lee.  First it was the sheer silence.  And then it was the sea of tombstones.  Walking up hill was difficult, as I tried to process the thought of how all of these men and women served our country, believing that the security of our country and our world were greater than their own lives.

Fifteen minutes into the walk, I stumbled upon the tombstone of Sgt.William Windrich.  William Windrich served in the Korean War and died in 1953, earning the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Not too many soldiers earned the medal of honor.  In fact, those who did didn’t live to tell about it.  And it was at this moment, that I completely lost it.

“Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”  That’s what it says at the Korean War Memorial.  William Windrich was one of those sons.  Not only did he go to defend people unknown to him, but when he got there he gave his life.  He gave it to defend a people unknown to him, for people like my parents, grandparents and my aunts and my uncles.  And if it weren’t for men and women like him, I, a Korean American, wouldn’t be here.

I stood there before his tombstone for what seemed like hours, wondering how he died and if he left behind a family.  I wondered if he struggled with his final decision or if it was a no brainer.  How on earth could any man choose to leave his world to defend a country he never knew?

When I got back home I googled William Windrich, and I found this entry on arlingtoncemetary.net.

“Late in the afternoon of 1 December 1950, because his company was surrounded by enemy aggressors at Yudam-ni, they were ordered to move toward Hagaru-ri. By the time they reached Hill 1520 (Hill number shows elevation in meters), three miles southeast of Yudam-ni, it was very dark and the temperature averaged a minus 40 degrees. The company relocated a few times, then back to the knoll, between two rugged mile high mountains where they were bombarded by grenades, machine gun and rifle fire. Staff Sergeant Windrich led a rifle squad of twelve men to meet the enemy head on, while armed with a M-2 carbine. Seven of his men were wounded or killed before they reached the forward position they were to defend. Windrich was also wounded in the head by a bursting grenade. As blood gushed down his shoulder and back he moved his remaining men into a tight fire group. Then he ran to the company command post, drafting a small group of volunteers, and led them to evacuate the dying and wounded. Assuming command of what was left of a platoon, Windrich once more took up defensive positions. Now he was shot in both legs, but kept fighting, always refusing medical attention. For a long time he crawled in the snow, back and forth between his men shouting words of encouragement, deploying his forces and helping to throw back the attackers. It was only after the communist had been beaten off did Staff Sergeant Windrich collapse and die due to the bitter cold, excessive loss of blood and severe pain.”

President Harry S. Truman posthumously awarded the Medal Honor to his widow and his seven year old daughter.  He had a family, and knowing this made my appreciation for him even greater.  I feel indebted–to him and to men and women like him.  And you know, by feeling indebted I feel rich, as a person and as a human being.  Why? Because their courage and sacrifice encourage me to do the same.  They encourage me to count the cost, to leave my comfort zone and to believe that the lives of others are more important than my own.  And when I do, I feel so alive.  And it’s during these moments that I understand why Jesus said that in order to find my life I must lose it.

William Windrich wasn’t the only one who served with valor and with sacrifice.  The tombstones around him were evidence of that.  And this Veteran’s day I will remember. I couldn’t help but think that the times–or rather the men and the women–were really different back then.  They devoted their lives to fight for a better world so that people like me can live with freedom.   I am indebted to them for giving me life and for helping me “find my life” when I am self absorbed or feeling sorry for myself.

I’m thankful for Veterans Day.  I’m thankful for all the men and women who served our country.  I want to remember their valor, their selflessness and their willingness to fulfill their call to duty.  And I want to honor them by living just as courageously and just as sacrificially as they did as I live my life for Christ and His Kingdom.

What are you thankful for regarding the topics other than the ones listed??  We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart.  If you have an entry regarding this topic, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.