Holiday Greetings:
At Outreach And Resource Services (OARS) for Women Veterans, when we think about our brothers and sisters serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, especially during this holiday season, we offer blessings: words for peace and prosperity, love, hope, and happiness;
For the families of the fallen, we pray you stay strong in the face of utter devastation. We wish for you and your family, a very good health and welfare. We will continue to have our leaders give you what you need to move forward, all of us knowing that’s truly impossible, yet something many seem to achieve each day. We bear witness to your loss. We admire your grit and tenacity.
For those who are currently active duty and serving, we pray for peace, an end to conflict wherever you are, and a safe return home. We hope that each Soldier, Sailor, Airman/Airwoman, Coast Guards, and every Marine and now Space Force person gets to return to a peaceful Nation where he or she can begin anew their lives out of harm’s way. When you come home, we will say, “Welcome home. We are glad you made it.”
For those returning in recent days, months, and the last few years, we pray you will be able to come to peace within. We pray you can reconcile your moral compass by knowing that each of your comrades wants you around for a long time, lest we forget the challenges caused by war and of service and being away from loved one for long periods. We admire you for your bravery and courage, especially the courage to live each day. We know it is a struggle. We hope you will be reminded that by living, we honor those who could not come home. We wish you a very stable holiday with safe travels, good family and friends, and a desire to keep moving forward.
We know you cannot forget. We don’t want you to “forget” but rather to take your experiences forward, so that one day all wars may end and peace abound, because it was you and you and you and each of us that showed others the detrimental cost of war. We know you are hurting inside. Is there any cure for what ails you? Probably not anything easy. Certainly not much in books. But there are things you can do to move through it.
Know you did your best.
Forgive yourself for what ever it is that you think you should have, could have, or would have done differently, or better, faster, slower, or whatever you think.
Be who you can be to exemplify the warrior spirit you hold within. You made it home. Home of the free.
To us at OARS, you did your best. Most times far greater than anyone who never served. You showed up. Every day. You did your best, every day.
You never quit while serving. Don’t you quit now.
We fully believe each of us military service persons are needed sometime in life for a person we have not yet met. Show up for that because they will need you to be at your best. Their very outcome will depend on you being at your best on that day in that space and at that time.
Our love carries us through. During the holidays find joy. Smile. A lot. Be as happy you can. How ever it is you celebrate, whether Kwanza, Hanukkah, Christmas, or some other way, enjoy the Spirit of the Season. We wish each of you a very merry holiday full of love and peace and your presence.
The OARS Board
