Sgt. Garrett McLead
SEPTEMBER 1, 2007 (SATURDAY) – I will resume the account of my experiences in various churches on Monday. Today, all our attention is focused on memorial services for Sgt. Garrett McLead.
Garrett McLead served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He voluntarily enlisted for four years, and at the end of that tour, re-enlisted for another four years. He loved what he was doing and he loved his country.
I recall meeting the McLead family when I moved to Rockport. We soon had a revival meeting with W.D. Broadway as preacher, and the two of us went to the McLead home on Orleans Street to have dinner with Jean Faye and Norman and their four children, Michael, Debra, Patrick and Joy. Patrick was about eleven years old at the time. That’s how long I have known him and his family. The last thing on our minds as we ate a wonderful meal in their home was the possibility of events unfolding as they have. The McLead family moved to a big house on Church Street not far from the Baptist parsonage and we were neighbors until 1970, when we moved to Oak Terrace. The Scriptures remind us that we do not know what the future holds, but we are promised that our faith and spiritual strength will be enough to sustain us in any and all circumstances.
Several things come to mind today. As I think of Garrett and his nature as a free spirit, thinking for himself, enjoying life, yet spiritually-minded and a serious thinker when it came to his commitment to God and country, I am reminded of the joys of being the person God created each of us to be. Garrett never tried to be someone else; he was always himself. May the Lord give each of us the satisfying knowledge that we are what we were intended by the Lord to become.
I think also of the importance of family. Garrett was part of two great family lines, his father’s and his mother’s. The relatives from both played a part in his life. He loved them all, and they all loved him. Never for one moment did Garrett feel alone in life. He was always surrounded with thoughts of loved ones and could feel their love.
And, of course, we cannot think of Sgt. Garrett McLead without an appreciation for his making the ultimate sacrifice for the principles in which he believed. We know that freedom isn’t free, and this experience forcefully reminds us all of the truth of that statement. We shall never again view our national flag without thoughts of Garrett. We know now the price of freedom is great indeed.
May we always remember with reverence the price that fellow Americans have paid for us. May we greet every veteran with respect. May we honor those who are injured, disabled and scarred as a result of their combat experiences in behalf of this country. May we never again enter the doors of a church for worship without thanking God and our soldiers for this freedom.
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