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by Georgie Márquez-André February 7, 2005
VAIN, a. Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance; fruitless; ineffectual. PUR'POSE, n. That which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished; the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure or exertion. This past Thursday we witnessed an amazing miracle.
I wonder how many people missed it... but as a mother... I saw it and was amazed.
During his State of the Union address, President Bush introduced a young woman, a grieving daughter who had written to him, recounting the death of her father at the hands of Saddam Hussein. She reiterated that the real occupators of her country, Iraq, had been Saddam and his regime. While being recognized by the gallery, she proudly showed her ink stained finger. A proud, triumphant woman, she had voted in the Iraqi elections just a few days before.
Then, minutes later, President Bush introduced another woman. She rested her head on her husbands shoulder, and you could see the pain etched deep in her face. She had recently lost a son in Fallujah... and was being recognized as a symbol of American sacrifice. As she and her husband stood up and the gallery broke into applause, the pain in her seemed to grow. She looked detached, finding it hard to connect with the moment, her grief was too deep. As my mother-in-law always says, parents are never meant to bury their children.
A few years ago, my only son took the oath to serve in the United States Navy. It was the proudest and one of the most difficult days of my life. To see this young man stand before the American flag, at attention, raise his hand and swear to defend the Constitution of the United States, and to state that he would be willing to lay down his life for this nation was, to say the least a humbling and overwhelming experience. As proud as I was of him in that moment, my heart skipped a beat, and I wished, for an instant, that he had chosen a different path. Every parent of every police/firefighter/soldier/sailor/marine/... knows that proud fear. This mother, standing before the eyes of millions of people, knew it, but for her, the worst of nightmares had come to pass.
Then, something extraordinary happened. In front of her, the young Iraqi woman had turned around, and looking up, applauded along with the rest of the crowd. Instinctively, the mother reached out, and they embraced. For what seemed a long time, they held to each other. In the end, it appeared that the soldier's mother shared one of her son's dog tags with the Iraqi woman.
And that's when the miracle happened.
Not that they embraced, not that they shared the pain of loss, one a father, the other a son... but in an instant, the Iraqi woman's victory gave meaning to the American boy's death. And the face of the mother was transformed. Following the embrace, she looked down to Laura Bush, and smiled. I believe that she could smile because in that moment, she realized that her son had not died in vain. She had touched Iraq in that embrace, and realized that there had been a plan, that there was a mission, that there was a purpose. That some victories require great sacrifice, but that this particular sacrifice was not lost or unappreciated. Her son's life, and his death, had been transformed... and for a second, the pain lost its edge.
Regardless of what happens in Iraq tomorrow, or a week from now, or a year from now. Our young men and women are trying to clear the way for the young Iraqi's of today to live. And sometimes, liberty comes with a horrific price. But as long as we believe in freedom, and as long as there are brave men and women willing to lay down their lives for a higher purpose... there will be purpose, and no death will be in vain.
Have a blessed week.
All definitions taken from Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary. Sign up now for Georgie Márquez André's Motivation of the Week e-zine. Receive inspirational thoughts, Bible studies, fitness tips and just general motivation to grow in body, mind, and spirit in your email box weekly. Yours FREE!! Here is a sample of the motivational messages you'll receive:
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