When grandmothers get together, what do they talk about? If this were Jeopardy, the answer would be so simple, "Grandchildren!" And so, Shelba began to lovingly talk about Jonathan McGahee, a middle grandson home from Iraq on leave, soon to return, and what he was doing over there. She spoke of a young, likable, passionate outdoorsman with a heart as big as the world who realizes he has a responsible job and does what must be done. "He won't talk about danger or stress because he doesn't want his family to worry. He's glad to be home with his wife and children for awhile. He'll go back to finish the job and when he's through, he'll come back to us."
    Julie knew that her preschool class just had to meet this soldier and they had so many questions for him. Jonathan was more than happy to meet with the two classes of 4-year-olds and he had a rapt audience. "Well, there is one shower for 100 men, so we use a lot of deodorant. There are a few neat places to eat on the weekend, but we eat mostly Army food. We watch a lot of movies when we can. I drive big trucks." Here was a great big man —  dressed in his uniform — and a real honest to goodness hero who was more than willing to share a little bit of his life with children who care.
    After he left, the classes asked, "Can we fix a box to send him some things?" And so they collected toilet articles, magazines, hard candy — the stuff we all take for granted — and a couple of gift cards that could be used on base to be lovingly packed into a box to be sent to a place so far away, called Iraq.
    A few days later, two classes walked to the Post Office pulling a wagon decorated with American flags and in that wagon was the box. Teachers Julie, Jill, Tiffany — along with parents — marched the two blocks to the Post Office, where they were met by the staff who not only expected the classes but were prepared. Before the group left First United Methodist, everyone prayed for angels to watch over Jonathan and to have a safe walk to and from the Post Office. The man who met the classes introduced himself, "Hi, boys and girls, my name is Angel and I will show you how we are going to send your box so it will arrive on time, to your Army friend, and nothing will be lost." By the way, Angel — in more ways than one — is an Iraqi veteran and could not have been more proud of those little children who cared enough to do something special.
    At what age do we teach our children all about life? We do not need to go into graphic detail, but there are hardships, disappointments and struggles as well as victories, celebrations and successes. We all had to go through dark times in order to understand true joy. We learn to cope when we struggle. One of the great lessons I learned was that a crisis has two outcomes: When we face that difficult situation, we can move forward in spite of our fear, or we can retreat and try to avoid the pain. We can succeed or we can fail.
    We were given life by the God who put us into a world with few guarantees and a host of challenges.
    Maybe we are all like packages, on a long journey, wanting to arrive safely. I like what Angel said, "Nothing will be lost."
    I can live with that hope. I surely can.