Serve because you can!

Many who have "served" will tell you that they received much more than they gave. You will hear that from volunteers everywhere. Quite often it's true of many who have volunteered to served in the military. I am one of them.
That has often left me speechless when someone thanks me for my service. In that moment my heart aches for those lost in service and for those who cannot say they received more than they gave. In that moment, I see the faces of the men and women I have known who were irrevocably scared by events of their service. They humble me.
Having worked at the Survival School, I heard first hand accounts of the many situations faced by our men and women in combat situations. I've met former POW's. For many veterans, physical survival was the easy part. I've heard their stories. I see their faces. Mine is not one of them. I am humbled.
If I pause and lower my eyes when you thank me, it's because of them. It's because in that moment I wish to honor them.
And so, I seek that path.
My job in the Air Force was to entertain those men and women and to tell their stories. My job was to bring a part of home to them as comfort in lonely times away from home. In a stroke of luck or fate, I was honored to serve in the elite Armed Forces Radio and Television. There were only about 500 of us worldwide while I was serving. These were the days before internet and broad satellite access to broadcasts. We had teletype service and MARS stations. And in Greenland, we often felt as though we were in Mars.
Across all branches in the military, there are many serving in non-combat roles. There are accountants, mechanics, electricians, computer techs, doctors, nurses, guards, clerical workers and on and on. They are all serving.
Is all service equal? I would say not. Is all service valuable? I would say so.
Throughout our community are volunteers who serve. Many will say they have received more than they give. It's true of those who volunteer as firefighters and it's true of those who volunteer to set up an event. It's true because your focus is on lifting others and by lifting others, you lift yourself.
Service should be recognized as valuable. But it is not all heroic. The act of service should not be heroic, it should be a way of life. We should all be seeking to serve, not for recognition but simply because we are all lifted up by it.
That's not to say that there are no heroic efforts. Some are able to do greater acts by fate or by design. Some find it within themselves to rise above. Some find themselves in situations that cause them to find something within themselves to do much more than they they ever imagined they could. They are heroes when the rest of us wonder if we could have or would have been able to do what they did.
And so, I will be focused on a more positive response as kind souls recognize my small service. Something like, "may we all embrace the service of our abilities", while remembering those who served beyond what they knew their abilities to be.
However you are serving, wherever you are serving, Thank you for your service! It matters!!! May it lift you as much or more than it lifts others. You will be my hero when you rise beyond what you thought you could possibly do in a most unexpected situation. You will also be my hero if you steadfastly serve because you can.