A thank you note

I got a thank you note from Iraq last week and frankly didn't know what to do with it. I certainly hadn't expected one. But there, in my hands, was a letter written by someone who had received the carefully packed snacks, diversions, and toiletries we sent. I cried. Then I forwarded the contents of the note to my friends who had also worked on the care packages.

It hurt to be thanked for caring about someone, and thanked effusively, at that. Reading a note that called blessings down on my head felt as though he should be thanking someone else, someone who could do more, someone who could make the people in power stop hurting others.

And then this afternoon, I heard the song Hero in Harlan by Tom T. and Dixie Hall. And found myself thinking of that note that thanked me for caring about a group of soldiers who had posted a request for food or anything that someone could send to AnySoldier.com. Sadly, I'm not giving away the identity of the group in question, as there are many soldiers requesting pretty much that. He says they're doing well, haven't lost anyone, though it can be hard to carry on. I found myself praying that we wouldn't get any more heroes - American, Iraqi, or otherwise. No more folded flags in exchange for sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends. No more.

He thanked me for thinking of them and praying for them, and I do. I pray for them all - for the end of this madness. I pray for the day when we will turn from this destructive path and work together in constructive ways. And I pray that these soldiers may find some peace.