What is the true meaning of Memorial Day? Ask any Gold Star family and they’ll tell you what it means. It’s not about the picnics. It’s about the men and women who have given their lives for this country. Every day is Memorial Day to us.” These words belong to Carol Resh, Gold Star mother whose son, Army Captain Mark Resh was killed in Iraq a decade ago.
I am humbled today as we remember those who died serving our country. Over the years, millions of men and women have committed to serving our nation, and over a million have given their lives so that we could have freedom and security. I did nothing to deserve the blessings that have come because of their selfless acts. It is hard for me to understand why these heroes are willing to risk everything, but I am so thankful to them. I am touched and humbled by these heroes.
At the same time, my heart breaks for the moms, dads, wives, husbands, children, siblings and friends of those who went to battle but didn’t return home. Their lives changed forever as they grieve for their loved ones; our lives changed forever because they saw a greater purpose and gave all they had to achieve it.
May we never take for granted our freedom and safety. These men and women served knowing that they may die fighting for the cause. The price was so high. Their lives were cut short, but their impact lasts through the ages.
This stanza in Moina Michael’s poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith,” says it well,
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.”
She is right. These men & women did not die in vain; their blood never dies. Let us never forget these heroes.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I am humbled today not only as I remember those who laid down their lives serving our country but also for Jesus who died in my place.
You see, God created us in his image and loves us with an everlasting love. However, we sinned, and sin separates us from God. Romans 6:23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus came to earth knowing that He would have to lay down his own life to conquer sin and death so that we could be made right again with God. He knew what was ahead before He was wrongly accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten and slain. Yet He was willing to give his all so that my sin could be forgiven and I could have eternal life. Again, I did nothing to deserve this. Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We were bought with a price.
This is not something we remember just today. This is not something we only reflect upon when we take communion. Every day is Memorial Day to us. May we never take for granted the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we could live eternally in heaven with him.
I may not be a great singer, but I love to sing praises to God and to worship Him. I don’t have a degree in counseling, but God does send me people to listen to, encourage and point to him. I don’t have a degree in teaching, but I have been given opportunities to build up high school students in my life group each week and to love and encourage children by volunteering in my son and daughter-in-law’s classrooms. I also may not be confident with my writing skills, but once in a while, I am blessed to know that God used the words I wrote to touch and encourage someone and to show them how awesome He is.
Because of the distance, the way we support each other and love each other must sometimes be accomplished with a little bit of extra thought and creativity. We have learned that via FaceTime, big brothers can still teach their little brothers how to tie a bow tie for their first homecoming. We can even have dinner “together” any night of the week via FaceTime as well. We have found that even though it isn’t possible for our son and daughter-in-law to take a lot of Christmas gifts home on an airplane, we can still order gifts online and ship them directly to their home. We can even print pictures of those gifts and wrap the pictures so that they have something to open here on Christmas morning. Because of the distance, I can no longer cut my son’s hair each month as I loved to do, but I was able to teach my daughter-in-law so that she can. We can send lots of pictures, videos and audio clips back and forth to share special moments when we can’t be together. I can pray for God to put people in their lives to physically help them when we aren’t there. I may not be able to attend every concert as I had planned, but I can support Christopher, Cassie and their students through prayer, donations and volunteering when possible. We have also learned to make the most of every minute when we are together because it might be months before our next visit. Most of all, I am learning to let go of my selfishness and am dying to myself for Jesus just as He sacrificed his life for me.
Though I am sometimes sad because we live too far apart for them to come over for dinner or to drive home for the weekend, I have also been blessed in ways that I wouldn’t have been if they lived close by. For example, if they were closer, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to spend a week at a time in their home. I wouldn’t see in great detail what a wonderful wife Cassie is to my son and how hard she works making him a good breakfast each morning and packing him such great lunches. My heart wouldn’t have been blessed by overhearing them each morning as Christopher read aloud to Cassie from the Bible, as they discussed the scriptures or as they prayed each morning for their students and their schools. If they lived close by, I would probably use my vacation days for more selfish reasons rather than being compelled to volunteer in their classrooms. I wouldn’t have been able to see first-hand how they have found creative ways to make learning fun. I wouldn’t see the huge impact that they are making in their students’ lives and how much their students love them. I wouldn’t truly know that they give so much of themselves to their students all day long and then come home to fix dinner, take care of the household chores and still find time to make lesson plans, gather supplies and spend hours preparing for special activities for their students.
In addition to answering my prayers, God is also teaching and maturing me through this experience. I really, really do not like to fly on airplanes, but God is pushing me out of my comfort zone and teaching me to trust him to keep me from falling. He is challenging me to surrender my plans for his. He is teaching my selfish heart that when I trust him enough to let go, He gives me freedom and blesses me in ways bigger than I could have asked or imagined.
