I met a Real American Hero

In this life, there are little moments that just happen to us and we don't know why, but when they are over you sure are thankful for them. I had one on Monday, the day before Valentines day. I was eating lunch at Ryan's (great for the low-carb & cheap eater) in the back like I always do. I like eating in the back because there is usually no one back there, I guess because its not as close to the buffet as other spots. When I went to my usual table, there was one old man back there by himself. I said "hello" and sat down to lunch.

About five minutes went by when this man, Mr. Miller, came and asked me if I was with the POW meeting. You see, he thought Monday was the day for the area POW's to get together. Apparently he got the wrong date because he drove all the way from Kodak for this meeting and he was a bit disturbed that no one else was there. I told him no but I sure was thankful for his service in WWII and I was happy to be in the presence of a real American hero. I asked him if he would join me for lunch and he did.

I didn't have to worry about making conversation, Mr. Miller was happy to tell me all about his life. He told me that he had been taken captive in Italy and he weighed 188 lbs. When he was liberated 14 months later he only weighed 71 lbs. He told me that after just a few days in the camp he decided that he didn't want to come home at all. He said that if he didn't want to come home, he wouldn't look forward to being rescued and his time would be a little less miserable. He told me that when his ship landed in Boston, he kissed the ground because he was so thankful to be back on American soil.

I loved this story but for me, it just got better. He then proceeded to tell me that he just buried his wife of 65 years in November. This was my chance to talk to him about Jesus. I asked him if he was saved and he told me "ohhhhhh yessss". He said he wasn't perfect but he did the best that he could. I said, "I bet you sure loved your wife a lot, didn't you"? His eyes got very misty and he said with a whimper "ohhhh yesss". He then told me how they started.

He met his wife in N.C. right after he got out of the Army. He said that he was "hitting the bottle pretty hard" when he met his wife. After they had been dating for a week, he picked her up to take her home and she told him that they needed to talk. He said that she was so beautiful that he just knew that she was dumping him for someone better. Instead, she told him that her father was a baptist minister. He told her that if she was going to keep dating that boy he had to quit drinking. Mr. Miller said he had just bought a 6-pack of beer and he had already drank one. When she told him that, he said "I can still take you to the very spot on the side of the road where I pulled over. I grabbed the five beers that I still had left out of my '36 Ford and I flung as far into the woods as I could and I haven't drank a drop since".

Mr. Miller knew what love was and knew that it was sacrificing his vices for. We continued to talk about his wife and her burial and all that he had to go through. He told me about the three trips he made to N.C. the week she was buried. I was truly blessed to have gotten to spend an hour of my life with this 88 year old American hero. He reminded me that love can be forever if you are willing to compromise. He also showed me that after 65 years of marriage, you can still be in love.

Thank you Mr. Miller for sharing a meal with me. I hope that all of my friends that read this are lucky enough to meet a Mr. Miller.....before they are all gone.

God bless Mr. Miller and God bless the U.S.A.

God loves you and I do too!

A Valentine for Kim

Words can never describe how I love my wife. Well, there probably are words but I'm not a poet or a song writer that can put my thoughts into words that describe my emotions for and my commitment to Kim. Words always fail my true feelings for her. I think today if I had to pick one word to sum up my entire feelings it would be GRATEFUL. Grateful to God for giving her to me and grateful to her for loving me. I live in the country so if I went outside and screamed "I LOVE KIM KNIGHT" no one would hear. So, if you decided to read this blog, I'm gonna scream it to you and here goes:

Kim,
It seems like yesterday when you saved me. That's right, you saved me. You saved me from the man I was and the man I was becoming. I had just came out of a failed relationship that I had hung my hopes on. When I was let down, I decided that I could never give my love, my trust, to any woman ever again. I was content to play softball then go play basketball with Jon Sweet until all hours of the night until I had to go back to an empty house where I was alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. That's all I felt and I was content with it. If I was alone, I could not be let down. And then, when I least expected it God sent me you.

You weren't looking for anyone either when God sent you to me. But when you found me, you had compassion on me. You had patience with me until I could learn to trust you. Even though I was just a shell of a human with nothing left to give, you gave me everything you had in hopes that I could return it. I'll never forget the 7th inning of the Atlanta Braves game, sitting in right field when you leaned over with a simple whisper "I love you". I remember melting inside at that moment. I had such an inner turmoil because I had told myself that I would never love again, yet all I wanted to do was grab you and tell you that I love you too but I didn't. Even though I waited a few hours, you understood. You have always been so patient with me.

Your patience and love taught me how to love. What I thought was once love wasn't love at all. It was merely respect and endurance but there was no love. You are the only woman that I've ever loved and I couldn't have loved if it weren't for you. I am so grateful that you saved me many years ago. I am so grateful that you have taught me how to love unconditionally and without reservation.

After all these years that moment in Atlanta seems like yesterday and yet even today, I still have that melting feeling inside, that "I'm in love with this woman feeling". Yes, we've had our ups and downs but that is what helps us to grow even closer. We hang on too each other through the downs because of love and we are rewarded with tremendous ups. There is one thing that is and always will be constant in my life (besides Jesus of course) and that's Kim Knight. I know that you will always love me and I want you to know that I will always love you. That's right, ALWAYS. We have learned to accept our differences and forgive each other no matter what. I know that your strengths compliment my weaknesses and vice versa.

You are truly the woman of my dreams and I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you. Every day with you is a new experience, even if we are doing the same-old-things. Thank you so much for loving me and saving me from myself.

Your loving husband,
John

God loves you and I do too!