Sad­ness, sym­pa­thy and grat­i­tude were the three very real emo­tions that were swirling inside of me as the Delta pilot made the fol­low­ing announcement.

“Ladies and gen­tle­man, please remain seated as we approach the gate. We have a sol­dier on board who is accom­pa­ny­ing one of our fallen sol­diers home to his fam­ily. He will deplane first so he can meet our hero’s fam­ily as they unload him from the bot­tom of the plane. Please join us in a moment of silence or prayer if you are inclined as we honor them.”

Then a well-decorated sol­dier stood up, dressed in his finest blue uni­form, dec­o­rated with dozens of medals, badges and stripes and he looked at all of us as he waited for them to open the plane door. Com­plete silence fol­lowed. I could not stop star­ing at his face, his stern and stoic eyes. I could not imag­ine what his next few moments would feel like as he met this fallen soldier’s fam­ily. Would his par­ents be there wait­ing, maybe a wife and chil­dren? Sure they knew of the risks and the dan­gers that are present when any join the armed forces, but did they ever think this would hap­pen to them? I prayed for immense com­fort and peace for this griev­ing fam­ily and the brave sol­dier who accom­pa­nied his fel­low warrior.

Here are a few pos­si­ble Action Plans that can help you gain a bet­ter per­spec­tive as we enter this Thanks­giv­ing week ahead.
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