As people all across America remember those who have given their lives to help secure the freedoms and luxuries we have in this Country I wanted to share a tribute that Josh and I contributed to. I volunteer my time every Wednesday night at Redemption Church here in Gilbert to serve in their student ministries as a mentor for high school girls. One of the young ladies in my youth group was explaining a school project she had to put together for her photography class which involved paying tribute to fallen soldiers and the spouses that were left behind.
The theme behind the photo was of a grieving military widow at a grave-site but the "ghost" of her husband was to be standing by her side looking over her by using some special photography filtering that they were learning in class. This sounded like a great opportunity to me so I asked Josh if he would also like to be involved and he said he thought it would be great.
We arranged to meet at a cemetery not far from where I live here in Gilbert and spent about an hour going over her ideas and allowing her to direct us with what her vision was for the photo shoot. She got several nice pictures that day but there was one in particular that stood out among the rest. As a matter of fact, it stood out so much that she entered it in to a Statewide photography competition here in Arizona and won first prize. I've never shared it publicly anywhere before now but today is a perfect day to do just that:
So to all those widows, children, and families that have lost loved ones due to their military service I just want to offer my sincerest condolences. This day represents grief for so many. While millions of Americans will be enjoying their backyard barbecue's, swimming pools, camping trips, and discounted cars and mattresses, the real reason we're here is because of those who fought bravely to give us our freedoms.