Thoughts on Taking A Knee

This is from the wife of a man who played football at Annapolis and is now retired from the Navy.  He was the Executive Official on a nuclear submarine and played hide-and-seek with Russian subs constantly for years.

It is obvious how she feels about anyone one who takes a knee during the National Anthem.

TAKE A KNEE 

To All Ballplayers, Everywhere...

Take a little trip to Valley Forge in January. If you don't know where that is, just Google it from the sidelines. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle, so just wait your turn. Take your cleats and socks off to get a real experience. Then 

take a knee. 

Then, take one at the beach in Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, even as the one in front of him was shot to pieces...the very sea stained with American blood. The only blockers most had were the dead bodies in front of them, riddled with bullets from enemy fire. 

Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. from Khe San to Saigon... Anywhere will do. REAL Americans died in all those jungles. There was no playbook that told them what was next, but they knew what flag they represented. When they came home, they were protested as well..and spit on for reasons only cowards know. 

Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat.. Wear your Kevlar helmet and battle dress... Your number won't be printed on it unless your number is up! You'll need to stay hydrated but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatoradeinto your mouth. You're on your own. 

There's a lot of places to take a knee. Real Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your displeasure, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled a sea of it defending your liberty. 

While you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on a manicured lawn striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of ground taken...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost

serving that flag you protest.

No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women ...delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us...blazing a path so you would have the right to "take a knee." 

You haven't an inkling what it took to get you where you are; but your "protest" is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation of real heroes, it serves the purpose of pointing to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your jersey is issued to another... 

If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for our ingratitude for all He has provided us.  We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom.  We'll pray for liberty and justice for all...because He is the one who provides those things.  

And there will be no> protest. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave. It goes like this... GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Thought for the Day:

"It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn't in flames, that there are people in the country beside politicians, entertainers, and criminals!"

Emilio and the Potatoes

I  have, maybe, a hundred stories about the founding, history, and people of LIVING HOPE CHURCH of Huntsville, Alabama (formally know as FIRST ALLIANCE CHURCH of Huntsville), but one of my favorites is the story of: 

Emilio and the Potatoes 

Emilio Uvalle did the block and brick work on our church in 1965.  Emilio, his son, and a nephew would arrive on the scene soon after dawn and immediately get to work; mixing motor and moving blocks and brick into place. When the first batch of mud was ready, Emilio began laying wall while son and nephew kept him supplied such that he never had to reach more that a couple of feet for either mud or brick. 

Through the long summer days, they took few breaks, mainly for water and to relieve themselves. After 6 hours, they would take a 2-hour break for lunch and siesta and then back to 4 to 6 more hours of building walls.  I never saw such a work process again until 1988, on vacation in Mexico where I watched the building of an addition to the hotel where we stayed.

We were pleased with the work and how it was progressing well ahead of schedule.  So, you can imagine our surprise when Emilio told us and the contractor that they were taking off for two weeks for him and his entire family to go to Sand Mountain and help with the potato harvest.  We knew the pay for field work was much lower that the wages of bricklayers and were quite puzzled as-to-why he would make such a move.  

On Sunday, two weeks after they had “walked off of the job,” they showed up at our temporary meeting place with the backs of their 2 pickup trucks loaded to overflowing with “crippled” sweet potatoes and asking members of our congregation to take as many as they wanted.  It seems that the harvest leaves potatoes, that are not commercially viable, laying in the fields to be plowed under. The workers are allowed to take all they want.  Emilio told us that they took home enough to provide a substantial part of his family’s diet for the next year.  They were ready to get back to work.  The work was finished on schedule.  We all enjoyed free sweet potatoes for a while.

Copyright 2006© Willie E. Weaver 

All rights reserved.