Every year, it seems, somebody asks me what I want for Christmas.

Over the years, the list has changed.

As a boy, my list included toys, maybe a new bike or a sled and maybe, just maybe, a puppy.

Such a list, I believe, is still the norm for kids today.

As I grew older, the list included more, substantial items.

A calculator, a new stereo, hiking boots and maybe, just maybe, a puppy.

By the time I was in college, my Christmas list had evolved to include a new camera lens, something for my first car…a 1977 Chevy Chevette,  money for spring break and maybe, just maybe…

A puppy.

While some things never seemed to change, you can see the emerging pattern. As I became older, my wish list became more…Grown up.

Those days, even the young adult days are long gone and my list, that annual Christmas wish list, has become much more…Down to earth.

From a material standpoint, I have what I need and then some.

I have memories of my youth, my version of the best wife ever, family within a few hours drive, friends who mean the world to me…Food on the table…And yes…I do have a puppy.

What more does one need?

What I want now…What I REALLY want, can’t be found in a store, can’t be bought at 40% off on black Friday, ordered from Amazon, wrapped up, placed under a tree or…Delivered by UPS.

What I want has already been paid for.

Liberty and freedom.

I want the liberty to make my own decisions, for better or worse and the freedom to act of my own accord as long as the things I do cause no harm to others.

All of that has been paid for over the last 237 plus years by those who, from the very start, have worn the uniform of this nation.

Freedom has never been free.

Over the years, we all had those things and, it seems, too many of us took for granted that we always would. Things of such importance, irreplaceable, and fragile, should NEVER be taken for granted.

These days, far too many folks walk around on egg shells, afraid that anything they do or say…The things they believe or the religion they follow will, somehow, offend someone.

Sadder still is that while those who have chosen to wear this nation’s uniforms fight to keep OUR freedoms and liberties as well as offer them to others in far flung places, there are those who, here at home, strive to limit the freedoms and liberties we should ALL enjoy.

Exactly who do those, who choose to limit liberty, think protect their right to speak THEIR minds?

There are those among us who feel the military is unnecessary but, they fail to realize that without those who pay the price for freedom, there would have never been a United States to start with.

The price, paid by the brave men and women in our armed forces, is great.

They are away from homes, their families and friends.

They live in the worst of conditions in the worst places on earth for months or years at a time.

They face uncertainty every day and not the sort that we face. THEY are uncertain, in many cases, whether or not they will see another sunset or, another sunrise.

Nobody is getting rich in the military. The bravest our nation possesses, work for nearly nothing.

But, they aren’t the only who pay the price for our freedom.

Their families pay that cost too.

Imagine the young families of those deployed overseas who, because the pay isn’t enough on which to live, visit food banks or are forced to take food stamps just to feed their children.

Consider those children who may not be old enough to even know where mommy or daddy is and clearly have no idea why they’re not home for birthdays, school plays or family outings.

Even if they do know…Even if they understand…They know that someone, who means the world to them, may not be home for Christmas.

It’s a steep price to pay, don’t you think, for OUR freedoms?

Some pay a much higher price.

Far too many, when they DO come home, aren’t the same as they were when they left.

Their bodies shattered by the cost of freedom.

Minds disturbed by the price of liberty.

Scars seen and unseen and, then again, there are the families who may now be pressed to the duty as life-time care providers for those who, with courage and dignity, stood for US.

Others still, paid more than the all the rest.

Tomorrow, across the country, families will gather. Some for the first time since their loved one perished in uniform and for others, tomorrow will mark a sad anniversary of the first Christmas without a father, mother, daughter, son, brother or sister.

An empty chair at the table where that soldier will never again sit.

An empty place in the hearts of their family and friends.

They and their families have paid the ULTIMATE price for OUR freedom and OUR liberties.

Tomorrow is Christmas day.

I would like the freedoms and liberties we used to have and those our founders and framers envisioned. I would like the freedoms and liberties that Americans, in uniform, have fought for over the past 237 years.

That’s what I want but, there is a price to be paid.

We must stand up and exercise the freedoms and liberties for which they fight. We must show the courage here at home that those in uniform around the world show.

If we back down…surrendering to those who would limit our freedoms and liberties, the sacrifice made by our Members of the military and their families would be wasted.

The price THEY have paid and continue to pay will have been for nothing.

They fight for US.

They SACRIFICE for us.

THEY PAY THE PRICE OF OUR FREEDOMS AND OUR LIBERTIES.

Is it too much for us to thank them by fighting the enemies of freedom at home?

Tomorrow is Christmas. A time of great joy, peace and goodwill toward man. It is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus and gather with those who mean the most in our lives.

It too is a day when we must remember those who are scattered across the world to protect what we must never take for granted at a price most of us will never know or be able to repay. We must also remember their families, for their part in our freedom and liberty, is also great.

So…Why a message such as this, regarding our soldiers and their families, for Christmas?

Because…The freedoms and liberties we must exercise daily, in order not to lose them, were endowed to us by the same Creator whose Son paid the ultimate price for our sins.

That will come as a great source of offense to many of the enemies of freedom here at home…That the freedoms we fight for, and the Child we celebrate tomorrow, are linked so tightly together.

It may also well be shocking to the limiters of liberty to know that those wearing this nation’s uniform fight, are wounded and die to protect our right to SPEAK the truth and PRACTICE the religion of our choosing…Including CHRISTIANITY.

I have a question for the enemies of freedom at home.

How can you insist on a nonexistent Constitutional clause YOU refer to as the “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE” when it is, in fact, “the state,” the United States Military, that maintains our RIGHT to REJOICE in the birth of Jesus and YOUR right not to?

We will all celebrate tomorrow in our own way. We will be merry and rejoice, feast and open presents. Those who have a wounded soldier at home will celebrate as best they can while those who have a loved one stationed somewhere else will do the best they can to make the day as special as possible.

Those who have suffered the loss of one in the service of our nation will have their celebrations with the sadness and pride that someone they loved, gave so much to us all.

And those, protecting our freedoms in places of which we may or may not have ever heard…They will find a way to celebrate the day as best THEY can.

Young Reed Robertson can explain it better than I.

Amid it all…Teach the children that the greatest gifts they will ever receive are Freedom, Liberty, Family,Those who protect them and…Jesus.

Everything else is just for fun but, those gifts, those most important of gifts, are never to be taken for granted.

Ever.

To my Patriot friends and especially to those who serve in uniform and the families of those who have protected and, continue to protect our liberty…Merry Christmas to you all.