TFC Short-Shot: Memorial Day 2016

Memorial Day - Let it be a day of rememberance, reflection and honor.

 

I would like to read something I wrote on my Facebook page this morning and on the Texas CHLforum.com.

Today is Memorial Day, sadly, a day many will describe merely as the last day of a three-day weekend. While we will barbecue today, it is not a day of barbecue. While we will gather with friends and family to celebrate, it is not a day of celebration. What we will do this day is not wrong, but this is a day of remembrance, a day of reflection, a day to remind ourselves of those who went to war not to die, but were willing to do so for their countrymen. It's a day to honor not only those who have paid the ultimate price on earth, but also their loved ones who must relive their loss every birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and, yes, Memorial Day.

I pray that every man and woman that dons the uniform in service to Americans does so with the love of Christ in their heart, so that their death on the battlefield, should it come, will be the first day of an eternity of joy and peace, rather than the last "good" day they will ever experience.

I don’t want anyone to think that I am calling for a quiet and somber day of remembering, but remember we must. It’s not smiles and laughter that we must shun, but ambivalence or even outright scorn for those who answer our country’s call to arms and fight our battles, be they popular or unpopular. Honor the memory of those who have fallen in battle for America for in so doing, we not only show them our respect, but we also help to ease the pain of their loved ones. Let not another man or woman fall only to have some claim “they got what they deserved” as we heard spoken so often during the Vietnam War, or more recently by hate-filled people daring to call themselves a church.

Tomorrow, life will resume as normal and lest we are among those who have lost someone in battle, we are not likely to remember those whose blood was spilled on the battlefield, until the next Memorial Day. This is as it should be, for those who gave their lives for our freedom did not do so that we would begin every day with a dirge. They fought and died so we could rise every morning and enjoy the freedom they valued more than life itself. So when the sun rises tomorrow, smile, enjoy your family and friends, go to work, to school, to play. Laugh and treasure your time with those you love, but today – remember well the true price of those good times.