Memorial Day Musings

Point of reference: Joshua 4:4-8, where Joshua has 12 men select stones from the middle of the Jordan River to use to build a permanent reminder of what God had done for them.
In just a few hours it will be Memorial Day. Tomorrow we’ll see flags posted all over town—I’ll post ours. We’ll have the day off and give what could most accurately be described as a casual nod to the real meaning behind Memorial Day.
Back in the day when I was a boy we called it Decoration Day. My Mom would make floral arrangements from the many flowers she had growing in our garden and we’d travel to the cemetery where most of my family is buried and decorate their graves. Mom and Dad would talk about each family member, briefly reliving their lives and, sometimes, the manner of their deaths. Late in the day, we’d return to remove the flowers so the cemetery staff could mow. Mom took the lead to decorate the graves, keeping with the tradition of how Decoration/Memorial Day began. Stories are varied but all seem to agree that this observance originated with women decorating the graves of soldiers killed in the (un)Civil War. Legend has it that at first they only decorated the graves of the soldiers who fought on their side. Soon they realized there were mothers in other parts of the country grieving over the death of their sons and, because of distance, couldn’t honor their loved ones. So these compassionate ladies of the South also laid flowers on the graves of the Union soldiers buried near their Confederate Sons.
Over time we changed the name to Memorial Day and have placed an emphasis on honoring all who have and are giving of themselves in the service of our country. We especially honor those who died in the line of duty. I need a reminder to realize we have men and women struggling on foreign soil to protect our freedom.
You see, this Memorial Day weekend we’ve occupied ourselves with our own lives. All the local high schools have held their graduations over the last couple of days at the United Spirit Arena. Local school and college baseball teams have been involved in post-season tournament play and all have hopes of a state or national title. The NBA is now down to two teams who will compete for the trophy. There was a big race in Indianapolis today and millions of people watched it in person or on television. The temperature is soaring—actually, record breaking, and our church lost most of its air conditioning units this very morning, so it was hot in worship. We were a little uncomfortable. Yes, I need a reminder that some of my fellow citizens are suffering for the cause of freedom.
Centuries ago—actually, millenniums ago—God was leading a group of people from the wilderness into their promised land. He would perform a miracle to get them from one side of a flooded river to the other; He would part the river and establish dry ground. (Read my previous posting on the Wet Ankle Hall of Fame for more background.) In the process He gave instructions to the nation’s leader to have men gather the rocks and establish a permanent reminder of His work on Israel’s behalf. God knew humans forget what He does on our behalf. (I remember an old adage that goes like this: If we could forget our problems as quickly as we forget our blessings, we’d not have many problems.)
Have you considered lately all God has done for you? Have I? Have we given much thought to how much others are sacrificing for our country? Maybe, just maybe, May 30, 2011, would be a good time to reflect and give thanks to God and to our military families. “Thank You, O Lord, for blessing the U.S.A.”