My husband & I were in Subway recently. We had gone through the line, ordered our sandwiches, and he had paid. We were both heading to the drink machine when he suddenly turned and walked back into the line.
As I was getting my drink, I watched over my shoulder as my husband walked up to a man in a camouflage uniform. He said a few words, shook the man’s hand and came back to the drink counter.
“What was that all about?” I asked as we were walking away, “Was that someone you knew?”
My sweet husband responded that no, he had no idea who the man was. Only that he saw a man in uniform, held out his hand and said “Thank you for your service.”
“Wow,” I said as I thought about it. I’d never seen anyone do that before. It made me want to go back and shake that man’s hand. I do love America, and I’m grateful as well for the sacrifice of our veterans.
Fast forward to the next day when my mom and I were out to lunch at a little diner. I watched an elderly man slowly walk in with his wife. The man was wearing one of the war hats you see sometimes with the World War II insignia.
“Hey mom,” I said looking over her shoulder, “A man just came in behind you wearing a World War II hat. You don’t see many World War II vets anymore.”
I mentioned an article I read online recently about how World War II vets are literally a dying breed.
“Any World War II vets remaining would have to be about 90 years old,” she said. “That explains why there are not too many left.”
My mom always takes me to lunch on her days off, so we enjoyed a full meal even with dessert. As we talked, I told her about what I saw my husband do in Subway the day before.
As we were leaving, she grabbed the bill and was saying something about how she was glad to be in a place of life where she had extra money to do special things. By special things, I thought she was referring to the giant cream puff we had just shared.
But I watched as my mom got out of her chair and went to the table behind us where the elderly man and his wife sat. She said hello and mentioned that her daughter noticed his World War II hat. The gentleman beamed. My mom shook his hand, thanked him for his service, and paid cash for their lunch.
I was still sitting there watching the whole scene play out as the man tried to stop her by saying she didn’t need to do that, but mom had already left. I walked over to him and put out my hand. “Thank you for your service,” I said, while thinking of my husband’s words and trying to repeat it exactly like he had the day before.
The elderly man took my hand and looked at me with tears in his eyes.
I couldn’t believe it. Following my mom, I whispered “Mom, he’s crying!” I then noticed that she was a little teary, too.
I wrote this not to brag about how awesome my mom and husband are, even though I think they both are great! It’s just that I keep thinking of the elderly man’s eyes and how today you hear so much bad news about people who hate police, the military, or people who hate people of a different color…basically a whole lot of hate directed to a whole lot of people.
Today is Veteran’s Day and I challenge you to find a veteran to thank personally. Shake their hand and thank them for their service or buy them a cup of coffee.
The kindness you show may inspire someone else watching you to do the same. What better way to stop all the hate by showing love by example?
Marybeth Ray comes to DuoParadigms with over five years of design experience. Upon graduating with her Graphic Design degree, she worked with a sports marketing company with clients ranging from SeaWorld to Nascar. She also enjoys providing pro bono design work to the missionaries and non-profits she supports in her free time. It is a privilege to now be working with DuoParadigms and their clients and to be using God-given talents to help Christian businesses and ministries!
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