Extremes Of Service

Part of my travel routine is to check email and the hometown paper website.  While in Uganda over the weekend, I saw that a Tennessee National Guard helicopter had crashed

I awoke this morning to see if the names of the flight crew were released yet...I was saddened to see a familiar face.

I then checked email, only to share in the joy of a family who had just dropped their son off at West Point, a United States Military Academy, where it is an honor to even be considered for enrollment.

I was overwhelmed by the extremes of military service...the joy and pride of one military family and the crushing sorrow experienced by another...my day began knowing God is in control.