Like a Prayer

Last week, L Cpl Blake Rodgers was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.  This young, handsome man was only twenty years old; he had his life ahead of him, and it was taken from him in an instant while he was serving our country.  I did not know Blake, as I am a lot older than he is, but coming from such a small town where "everybody knows everything about everybody," I have heard a lot of wonderful things about him and his lovely family.  His body was brought back to the states this past weekend, and he and his family made their way back to Griffin this morning by a motorcade of policemen and firefighters.  Although I was unable to be there, many people uploaded videos they took with their cameras, and it was truly one of the most moving tributes to a fallen hero that I have ever seen.  God bless this brave Marine, and his family as I am sure this will be a very tough and trying time.  

As I was on Facebook viewing this heartfelt tribute, I came across people asking for prayer.  Asking for prayer is wonderful and inspiring; I believe in the power of prayer, and it is always so wonderful to see the many people that share in your beliefs.  However, I don't want to see your prayer request for: your child to poop, your hair appointment/color job to look great, your lack of sleep, your period to appear (yes, I have actually seen those), your hard day at work, or any other dumb-ass status update.  There are people that are going through difficult times: death, loss, sick children, job loss, dying parents, and you want me to pray for you because you had a rough day??  Get over yourself.

I hate that I even had to include that rant in a post that should be solely dedicated to this brave young man, but it just had to be said.  I know there have been several times in my life where I was "me, me, me" and horribly selfish, but then something as sad as this happens, and I find out that I'm pretty darn lucky to be blessed with the life that I have.  So tonight, and tomorrow night, and the next night, I will be praying for this brave Marine who lost his life protecting us, and I will be praying for his family and friends for strength in their days ahead.