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Melissa's Message
Dear Parents, Below is an excerpt taken from The Morning Note of May 14th that is sent to all staff members. It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. From a speech given in Paris at the Sorbonne in 1910 Theodore Roosevel The Man in the Arena I received a prayer request early this morning (ok, yes, I was up checking my email at 1:00 AM). There was an email from my daughter-in-law's parents. It read: Hi Melissa, I wanted you to know about Sherrad's friend. Amy was very upset last night about it because she knew him. I told her that I thought it would be better not to write Sherrad about it but to tell him in person later. I thought it might be a distraction in their training. I don't know much about these Army things, we'll have to learn as we go. Anyway, I just thought you might want to know. We can talk more later. Melinda For a moment I was selfish. I breathed a sigh of relief because my son is not in Baghdad ….he wants to be, but he's not. He's in Ranger Training at Fort Benning . Melinda included the email that went out to our church. It read: Please be in prayer for Sherrad Hayes' friend and classmate at Auburn, 2LT Daniel Luckett. He is from Norcross , GA. He was leading his platoon in Baghdad when a bomb hit his humvee. He has lost both feet. Also remember his parents and two younger siblings. Daniel Luckett, the man in the arena. I found the quote from Theodore Roosevelt when I was searching for quotes on Sacrifice. I believe that the quote describes Daniel's heroism well. Daniel was actually in the arena. He has been marred by dust, sweat, and blood. He strives valiantly and yet maintains his enthusiasm for the country he loves and the country he fights for. Sherrad once spoke to a group of Jr ROTC cadets. I was able to attend and listen to him speak. He talked about Duty, Honor, and Country. I watched him and listened to him as he said those words with pride, with passion, and with commitment for the Nation he has vowed to serve. Duty, Honor, Country, “Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.” (MacArthur) MacArthur also talked about what those words can teach us: They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. You see, men like Daniel are the men in the arena. I am reminded once again of how fortunate we are for those men and women who are in the arena. They live those words – Duty, Honor, and Country. We should strive to live them too for we are the teachers of their children! If you would like to read more about Daniel, here's the link. Please remember Daniel and his family – along with all those who serve so unselfishly. http://christchurchofmetroatlanta.blogspot.com/ Melissa
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