Good morning everyone.
Thank you to St. Ambrose for the invitation…
and thank you for taking the time today to pause and honor veterans—
not just for what we’ve done,
but for what service does to a person.
Today is about appreciation.
Gratitude.
And remembering that service shapes who we become.
I want to talk to you about something simple today.
Three phrases.
What if.
What is.
I am.
Because those three phrases will shape more of your life than you realize.
Before we go any further—I need your help.
What Is?
Is What!
WHAT Is?
Is What!
ALL TOGETHER:
I AM.
Hold onto that—we’ll come back to it.
There was a time in my life when I asked a lot of what if questions.
What if I could be a Marine?
What if I could earn that uniform?
What if I could go where I was needed?
What if I could serve something bigger than myself?
And for a long time…
those questions ended with question marks.
Because what if always ends in a question mark.
But something changed the day I stopped asking what if…
…and I stepped forward.
I raised my right hand.
I submitted to training.
I struggled.
I failed.
I learned.
I belonged.
And eventually…
I didn’t say what if anymore.
I said:
“What is… is that I am a Marine.”
Today—
What is… is that I have over sixteen years of service.
What is… is that I’ve worn the uniform.
What is… is that I’ve stood beside incredible men and women.
And this is the line that hit me like a ton of bricks:
What is… is what I am.
Now stay with me—because this isn’t just about the military.
In the Bible, there’s a moment where Moses asks God a question.
He says,
“Who do I tell them sent me?”
And God doesn’t give him a title.
He doesn’t give him a résumé.
He simply says:
“I AM.”
Not what if.
Not maybe.
Not someday.
I AM.
So here’s the connection:
What if lives in uncertainty.
What is lives in reality.
I am… lives in identity.
And identity is not something you think your way into.
You become it.
We say a lot that we love Jesus—and that’s a good thing.
But if we’re not careful…
love can become just words.
Because you don’t really know something by talking about it.
You know it by living it.
I didn’t learn what it meant to be a Marine by watching videos.
I learned it by becoming one.
And faith works the same way.
If you keep Jesus at a distance—He stays an idea.
But when you begin to live like Him…
when you begin to see people the way He did…
when you begin to act the way He did…
You don’t just believe in Him.
You begin to know Him.
One of Jesus’ greatest gifts wasn’t just miracles.
It was how He saw people.
He didn’t walk into a room and see labels…
or enemies…
or strangers…
He saw value.
He saw purpose.
He saw God at work.
And think about this for a second.
Where do we say Jesus lives?
In our hearts.
So if Jesus lives in you…
and He lives in the person next to you…
Then how you speak to them matters.
How you treat them matters.
How you see them… matters.
Because you’re not just speaking to a person.
You’re speaking to someone created with purpose.
So here’s the message I want to leave you with.
Your life will always give you what ifs.
What if I try?
What if I fail?
What if I stand up?
What if I don’t fit in?
But what if never builds a life.
What you choose to become… does.
Veterans don’t live in what if.
We live in what is.
Because when the moment comes…
you don’t get to wonder who you might be.
You become who you are.
And faith—real faith—is the same way.
When Jesus is in your heart…
your what ifs don’t disappear.
They get answered…
by how you live.
So don’t spend your life wondering who you might be.
Decide what is.
Because in the end…
What is…
is what…
I am.
Thank you.
And God bless.