We have just celebrated Veterans Day where we honor those who have served their country in the military. We also honor those who given their lives in service for our country. We look at the cemeteries and we see the headstones and the flags and we remember the ultimate sacrifice they gave for us. It is a very sobering reality when we think about it.

photo by jmp200962  Courtesy of Pixabay

There is another cost of war, one we don’t really think about except for on days like Veterans Day.  That cost is usually hidden from the majority of us unless we know someone personally who has lost a loved one in the line of duty for our country. That is the cost that the families of those veterans pay. The mothers, fathers, wives, children, brothers and sisters of those fallen will pay that price for the rest of their lives. 

The person who is lost will not be around the family table for dinner and their place will be empty for all to see and feel. Every day the families of those who are gone must get up and continue about their lives. They will carry the memory of that loved one in their hearts and they will try to make up for the loss of that person to their children and grandchildren.

Not only do we owe a debt of gratitude to those who gave their lives in service for our country, we owe a debt of gratitude to their families who also will be enduring the cost of that sacrifice for the remainder of their days.

Let us remember them also and keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

“Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13 (KJV)