Making my way to work through the front gate of one of our Bases there were protestor's on the side of the highway. Their signs read

"Drone Planes Terror From the Sky!"

"Use of Drone Planes are an Act of Cowardice!"

"Stop the Use of Drone Planes!"

The kids at the gate were so tolerant of my sputtering and anger; they are so well controlled in their emotions. Working next to them day by day is becoming more and more a joy and a wonder. Now I realize the wisdom behind the mandatory military service many nations impose upon their youth. They become stronger, more self-controlled, and well able to act responsibly while the rest of the humans on earth are in panic mode.

Then, later that day, when the overhead speaker came on, still with a controlled, strong voice, came the announcement for a moment of silence to honour the fallen and the wounded at Fort Hood.

I grieved and I prayed. I tried to reach out to my son without success. I did speak with one of his friends, still in the training portion of his warriorship, gave him my love, and told him of my pride in him. I read about the tragedies surrounding all in the deployment center and wondered what if…

The next day, the terror began again with the office in Orlando, Florida. All of the occurrences could be simply a coincidence…if one believed in such a thing. Then I was reminded of a passage from Jeremiah. My sister is more disciplined than I am; she reads and learns something new every day from her Holy Book. A few weeks ago, my sister found a passage from Jeremiah and we talked and laughed and drew strength and hope from those words. At the time, we talked about the women’s movement, Gloria Steinem, Susan B Anthony and other strong-minded women who stood next to and worked to enlighten the rest of humankind. Then our talk led us to think on other things and the passage was forgotten until this last week.

It cannot be just a coincidence that in both instances it was a woman who became the one to stop the violence. It cannot be just a freak that in both times, day after the day, it was a female who brought about peace to a frightening replay of the fear many of us have lived with over the past eight years.

The ironic part is that of all the women whom I have admired, women such as Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, Gloria Steinem, all of these women have publicly announced their unwillingness to fall into the path of any religion.

Yes, even Mother Teresa. In fact, she made no secret of the fact that she had fear and doubt and temptation all of her life. Did that stop her from attempting to change the world? Did saying that by the year 2000 we would be teaching our children to believe in themselves instead of in a Higher Power stop Gloria from trying to spread her message that women can and should attempt anything they wish even if it is an all mans trade? Did the sorrow the words of the Bible give Helen Keller stop her from achieving the impossible not only in her own life but also in thousands of other peoples’ lives?

Of course not.

The fact that I do believe in a Higher Power also does not stop me from reading, listening, and learning from all the words and works of other people, even if I do not hold with their spiritual beliefs.

Mother Teresa was right, we should help everyone become better people, her words were:

 "There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic. We believe our work should be our example to people.

If we take all of what Jeremiah was, saying at that time in history then the events of November 5th and 6^th are not related. Jeremiah was apparently making reference to the fact that a change in the world would occur when a virgin gave birth to a male who would then save the world. Taken as a prophecy all by itself, however, then this sentence can be applied to many events in past, present, and even future history.

Women have been heroines and brave warriors since the beginning of time, regardless of what time line of mankind’s history you follow. If that were untrue, the species would have died out long ago. So, it will not BECOME a trend, it is ALREADY a True Part of History Itself! Women have always surrounded men, Women will always compass man, women will always defend and fight for, with, and next to men.

The one thing that women want more than being warriors, more than belonging to a greater good, more than being part of a service-oriented force is this: Women want to change the world; women do not want to fight the world. Woman will fight, to the death if need be for her family, her country and her values. But more than that, women fight to protect.

Think on this. TO PROTECT!

All of us should take a moment of silence to remember our fallen and to commemorate our warriors, female or male. We love you all. We are so proud of you all. We are thankful to you all, for trying your best and being better than the rest of us. You are, the BEST of all of us and we thank you.

New International Version (©1984)
How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The LORD will create a new thing on earth--a woman will surround a man."

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth-- A woman will encompass a man."