You are worth it

"Thank you for your service."

How often have you uttered those words? Most of us who awakened at some point to the realization that we enjoy the freedoms we do because men and women risk their own freedom, sacrifice time with family, and pay the ultimate price have looked military men and women in the eye and said those words. I make it my business to thank those in uniform not just as a trite comment, but words from my heart. I do thank those who have offered themselves up in service to our country. They are the heroes among us, and they are worth our gratitude. Last week, I met someone who responded to my expression of gratitude with an expression of his own -- one that blew me away.

I left church Wednesday evening and stopped by the grocery store -- something I do often. But one encounter made this stop different from others. A man donning a military uniform was shopping, his back to me. As I approached, I was preparing to express thanks. I opened my mouth and said, "Sir, thank you for your service." He turned to face me and immediately responded, "You are worth it. You are worth it." I was floored.

Our military put everything on the line for our sakes. It's a deep realization. But this gentleman's words reveal something even deeper. They reveal that not only do soldiers risk their lives, but they deem us worth that risk.

It's one thing for people to show up for work, put their time in and complete the tasks expected of them. It's an entirely different thing to esteem the job a noble one, the risk a worthwhile one, and every single person affected a deserving one. This begs the question: How does a person behold where we have come as a nation -- the partisan divide, the eroding of our foundational beliefs and the literal trampling on our flag, yet still turn and say, without hesitation -- to a stranger, mind you -- "you are worth it"?

Expressed in that statement is a love that cannot be summed up in a newspaper column or explained in a focus group. It cannot be weighed by anything but a heart equally full of love for the one who uttered it.

Our soldiers serve because they see a cause greater than themselves, and they pledge to take on that cause wholeheartedly -- holding nothing back. They serve because they love America and the values that separate us from every other country in the world. They serve because they see in each one, even the one in a grocery store, whom they have never seen before and likely will never see again, an individual who is worth it.

Our men and women in uniform hear political arguments about their health care, their benefits, their allotment of the federal budget. Many return to civilian life scarred, unemployed and with families struggling to adapt to business as usual. As I heard those words uttered last week, my heart was overflowing and my conviction ever strong: We absolutely have to do right by our troops and veterans. It's more than an issue for a presidential debate or a T-shirt to be worn. It must be our priority, our passion, our duty. They will thank us for standing by them, and when they do, we will turn to each one and, without hesitation, speak the truth that was spoken to me in a little grocery in Southeast Missouri: "You are worth it. You are worth it."

To those who are serving and have served, to those who are graduating from high school in a few short weeks and are soon to serve, please hear my heart as I say yet again--with reignited appreciation--"Thank you for your service."

Adrienne Ross is an editor, writer, public speaker, online radio show host, former teacher and coach, Southeast Missourian editorial board member, and owner of Adrienne Ross Communications. Reach her at aross@semissourian.com.