You are...

You are beautiful. You are talented. You are strong. You are brave. You are courageous. When we go through the pains of life, these are hard words to swallow. We forget our values to ourselves and to the world. We feel destitute, forsaken, and lost. We feel we don't have anything or anyone to hold onto any longer. It is with these feelings that we often become depressed and withdraw from the world and our loved ones. 


I urge you to stay steadfast on your journey and dig deep to find your yourself again. 


When my brother Captain Christopher Soelzer passed away on that fateful Christmas Eve 2003 I was traumatized to say the least. Here I was, the youngest child, who chose to not go in the military and stay close to home, being tossed into this new reality that I was not prepared for. I had never had to take on the challenges that lay before me. I was forced to grow up really quickly and to be strong for my mother and father. My brother, Josh Soelzer, was also serving over in Iraq when our brother was killed. He was definitely in no position to take on this role as he was going through his own grief and loss. My grandmother also passed away the same day from cancer and so as both of my brothers flew home it was my responsibility to represent the family and travel to Sioux Falls for my grandmother's funeral. 


Not only did I have my own grief to go through, because my brother was killed in the Iraq war, his death was all over the media. Every local, state, and national newspaper had the story printed, every news station was airing the story. "The bloodiest day since the war started" the headlines read. Flags were at half staff all across the state as I drove to another funeral. It was a lot to bear. But what was even harder to bear was there was no mention of Tim Soelzer, the youngest brother, who was not in the military. Where was my story, where was there mention of the relationship that I had with my brother? I felt alone, lost, I did not have anyone to turn to. I felt as if I was the "forgotten" child. 


It took me many years through my journey to realize that I was never forgotten, and that I was never alone. My rock, my salvation, my Lord and God had never forsaken me and was and is walking with me everyday and lifting me up. I can stand here today and say that I am Tim Soelzer, the son of Steve and Delain, and the brother of Captain Christopher Frank Soelzer and Joshua Soelzer. Yes, I have still a long road ahead as we all do. But through faith and healing, you too will be able to say, I am beautiful, I am talented, I am strong, I am brave, and I am courageous. 

God bless
Tim Soelzer
The Sparrow's Nest