DO YOU CALL THAT LOYALTY?

Gary Thomas, an author tells the story of two American soldiers who became fast friends during their preparations for combat in World War I.Though they had known each other only a short time, the feeling of close friendship and trust among a group of people of battle and their shared dreams of postwar life quickly cemented their relationship.

One day, these two buddies crawled from their foxhole with the rest of their unit in an attack on the German forces. After a valiant fight, the order was given to retreat. But only one of the two friends returned to the trench. The other had been hit by German gunfire and was lying about 50 yards out of reach.

Against his commanding officer's orders, the other soldier crawled out of the ditch to go find his fallen comrade. Hugging the ground and dodging enemy bullets, he worked his way across the bloody, corpse-littered ground until he finally located the friend he sought. Finding him semi-conscious, they were left with only a few seconds together before he died.

When the man returned to the trench with the body of his soldier friend, the ranking officer flew into a rage for this flaunting of his order. "Was it worth it for you to risk your life?"

"Absolutely, sir. Because when I turned him over, he looked up at me and said, ‘I knew you'd come.'"

That's the kind of loyalty we are called to in all our relationships,our homes and families. Your spouse needs to know without a doubt that when you are needed, you will be there. Your children need to know they can count on you, not just in a pinch, but also in their most routine of expectations. Your fiancee or the one you are dating and hoping to get married to in future must know that when you are needed you will be there.

When they need you, can they be sure you'll come? Oh yeah, yes! You just told yourself but in your heart of hearts can you sacrifice your comfort for the comfort of the one you are walking with now? The one you call your hubby to be or wife to be, your wife or husband or that child you have given birth to and even your friends...can I count on you? Can you count on him or her? Even at work...hope you are not like the cat in the corner. Don't always place your interest first, learn to make the interest and preference of others yours and I guess you'll have some fulfillment.

Think about it.