Memorial day for me is bitter sweet. I am so grateful to our service men and women who have and are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Three of these brave Heroes know me by name. One calls me aunt and two call me mom.
They serve with dedication, bravery and love for their country and their God! Our nation is blessed to have these three men of valor protecting, standing, advancing and fighting for us. I know the looming possibility of my boys fate but I know the sovereignty of God! He holds our minutes, our days and our breaths. He knows the hairs on our head. He knows when a sparrow falls. How much more...How much more is His love for us?
Although there are days I want to retreat and bury my head in the sand with the fear of the "what ifs" I have to remind myself (and others remind me,) God's Mighty hand is covering and protecting no matter where they are. Be it behind the wheel of a car or in a tank in a war zone.
This weekend is a reminder of those "what ifs" It is also a reminder of the "the ultimate sacrifice" paid by those who were loved deeply by a mother, a father, a grand parent, a spouse, a child. This day marks a moment in time when their life course changed and they live in a day we celebrate one weekend a year.
It is a Sunday service that plays a video, says a prayer and honors our veterans. It is a parade of honor, flags and music it is a sale at retail store. It is a weekend to camp, travel or visit loved ones. It is an extra day off work.
It is also that same weekend those who live in the reality of "memorial days" hold their loved ones tighter, their hearts beat faster, prayers are a bit more desperate, and a parents love for their country has a face of a child on. Their memorial day is spent with a picture, at a wall, a graveside. It is spent on what it was dedicated to, remembering.
Or memorial day could be spent like mine, not wanting to face a day of memories that could some day be mine.
(NKJV) John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
