Veterans Day 2025 | Wading Into Deeper Waters

Sunday, we celebrated my father-in-law’s 88th birthday. It was a simple, joy-filled gathering marked by a great breakfast cooked by Terri, a handful of family reflections, and even some Dallas Cowboys talk. Terri even made chocolate pie—her grandma’s recipe.

At breakfast, the conversation quietly shifted to mental health.

My father-in-law, Gary, has been a Cowboys fan for as long as anyone can remember. So it didn’t surprise me when he asked about the Cowboys player who tragically took his own life this past week. He knows that I’ve experienced people taking their own lives.

What did surprise me was how naturally the moment opened a door.

Ahead of Veterans Day, our conversation drifted into deeper waters carrying mental health, suicide, the invisible battles people carry, and the way trauma carves its marks on the soul. We talked about the heavy burden many veterans carry home with them, but also how those struggles aren’t limited to military battlefields. Sometimes the fiercest battles are fought inside our own heads, behind quiet smiles and normal routines. Throughout my life, I’ve experienced people ending their own lives.

Somewhere in our conversation, I shared a bit of my own story.

I am not a veteran. But like many, I know what it’s like to wrestle with my own mind—PTSD, addiction, dark nights that feel too heavy, and the long road toward healing and hope. I know the ache of wanting to be stronger than you feel, and the shame that so often clings to mental health struggles. And I also know the grace of being met by God in places I didn’t think light could reach.

I’m grateful that on Sunday, we could have an honest conversation about a difficult topic. Talking about mental health shouldn’t feel like walking on eggshells. It should be as normal as celebrating a birthday or cheering for your favorite team. When we create spaces where people can speak openly, without fear and without judgment, we open the door for compassion, healing, and connection.

Today, as we commemorate Veterans Day, my prayer is twofold.

First, I pray for our veterans: the men and women who have borne the weight of war, who carry memories and scars we will never see, and who deserve more than one day on our calendars. They deserve support, understanding, and a community willing to sit with their stories.

Second, I pray for everyone else quietly carrying their own burdens. Trauma isn’t limited to the battlefield. Addiction doesn’t discriminate. PTSD can take root in places that don’t make the evening news. Sometimes, the human mind becomes its own battleground.

Friend, if you’re struggling, you’re not alone. You’re not weak. You’re not “less than.” You’re human—and God meets humans with grace.

I’m reminded of Psalm 34:18:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Sunday provided a beautiful birthday celebration. It was a reminder that connection happens when we dare to speak honestly. Healing happens when stories are shared. And hope grows when families choose to sit together in the tension of joy and sorrow, football talk and mental health, celebration and remembrance.

So today, in the space between an 88th birthday and Veterans Day, I’m grateful for family, for God’s grace, and for the courage to keep talking about the things that actually matter.

Until my next post…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

You can now find my articles in The Christian Grandfather Magazine.

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