Every year at Memorial Day, I take time to ponder and reflect on the sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price so that I can sleep safely in my bed at night. I think of those who gave "the last full measure of their devotion", of those who "more than self, their country loved, and mercy more than life." I cannot see a flag go by in a parade or hear the Star Spangled Banner sung without my heart stirring and my eyes watering.
Especially this year, with family members set to return home and those preparing yet to leave for a war we can only pray they return home from, I am so grateful for those men and women who set aside self in defense of something greater than themselves.
My heart aches a little each time I listen to the mournful strains of Taps, hear the echoes of a 21-gun salute, or watch a missing-man formation fly overhead. I pray for peace throughout the world and wish that no father, mother, sister or brother will have to leave their family, never to return home. I know that someday, in the Lord's time and way, peace will reign again on the earth. Until then, I only hope that I may live in thankfulness for and be worthy of the blessings of freedom I enjoy as a citizen of the United States of America.
2 comments:
Amen, sister. You made me cry.
Absolutely beautifully said. May your family and friends return home safe. God bless them.
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