May 28, 2018

Remember the Cost

“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me.”

– 2 Samuel 1:26a

David and Jonathan were like brothers. They had remained loyal to one another despite Saul’s attempts on David’s life. They had remained friends even though God had anointed David to be the next king, rather than Jonathan who was King Saul’s son. Only death could truly separate the friends.

War has always taken its devastating toll. That was the case here. Both King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle. It was a very real cost of war but that didn’t ease the broken hearts of those left behind.

Today is Memorial Day. It isn’t a day to barbecue with friends, hang out at the beach or laze around with a good book. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of that. It’s just that it misses the point.

This is the day we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. It’s the day we remember those who never came home. We honor them and the families who were left with a gaping hole in their hearts. It is a somber day of remembrance.

In recent years some have tried to turn this day into a celebration of all veterans and those in active military service. That was never what was intended. I am grateful to those veterans and to those who are currently serving our country in the Armed Forces. But I truly hope and pray that their families won’t ever need to remember them on this day.

There are plenty of days to remember those who live. There is Veterans Day. There is Independence Day. There are lots of accolades and times to say “Thank You!” Today is for those who aren’t here with us anymore. Today is for those who died too soon.

The Vietnam Memorial stands as a stark reminder, the names etched in stone. Do you know someone whose name is on that monument? Yeah. Me too. It changes things, doesn’t it? Because none of those hero stories can ever replace the one who didn’t come home.

God understands our grief. He sees our tears. He stands with us as we remember, as we mourn, as we take those first steps alone. God knows how shattered hearts feel. Remember, He gave His Son so that we could live.

The cemetery just down the road will have a ceremony today. Flags will dot graves throughout the cemetery. One will rest beside my cousin, a young man who never had the chance to grow old. This day was special to his Dad, who was also a serviceman. It was the one day out of the year that everyone remembered what he had lost.

I don’t know what your plans are today, but I sure hope you take time to remember the cost of living in a free country. Please say a prayer for those who still grieve because, no matter what you may have been told, there’s no time limit on grief. Honor what they’ve lost by remembering what this day is all about.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Today We Remember

 

"There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." -- John 15:13

Eleven years doesn’t seem like a lot when you’ve reached a certain age but it is a gulf that separates children into different generations. He was my cousin and yet he is but a fleeting memory.

His laughter still brings a smile to my face. His eyes twinkled and his was always up to something, whether it was jumping off the pier at Lake Fox or doing what teenagers do.

He grew up. He got married. And then he went away to war and never came home. We are all the lesser for his loss.

Those who served with him say he died saving someone else. His parents were proud. His father, dead these past few years, never missed a Memorial Day event. He made sure he was there every time they read his son’s name.

His mother never lost that haunted look that became a part of who she was. Even before Alzheimer’s claimed her memories, she seemed lost. Her eyes would glance up at the wall covered in medals and certificates and photos. Unlike her husband, who somehow found the strength to go on, her life seemed to stop. There was before and then there was everything else. Death was almost a relief for her shattered heart.

They had a daughter. And grandchildren. And they were never enough to erase the pain of a son who gave his life in a war that divided this country. He died in Vietnam at the age of 22. He’d barely begun to live before his body arrived home in a flag-draped casket.

We rarely think of the cost of war unless it impacts us directly. We prefer to keep it at a distance, supporting from afar because we can’t grasp the pain it can cause. Is it any wonder so many soldiers question their faith and, if they’re fortunate, draw closer to God as they dodge bullets and bombs?

What else is there? Who else is there? In a war zone, there is no such thing as safe. Every moment is a risk. God is our strength, our rock, our peace, to those who serve and to those left behind.

My cousin never came home in the way we had hoped. Instead, he went to the Home we all long. There is comfort in that. On days like today, we remember those who died and we give thanks that they lived.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Give Thanks For Brave Warriors

All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king. -- 1 Chronicles 12:38

Today is Memorial Day. It is a day to remember all those who gave their lives so that we might have the freedom to worship God, to live our lives, to launch our dreams.

We honor our soldiers and their families on this day but really it was set aside to remember those we have lost. I have walked beside numerous family members and friends who have served. I have watched their sacrifices -- the separations, the haunting images of war that remain long after a tour of duty, lingering health issues.

I have only lost one, my cousin, back during the Vietnam War. His parents are gone now, as well, but they never recovered from his death. There was no closure. Only a certain hope and promise that they’d see him again one day. I will forever remember the haunted look in my aunt’s eyes every time she spoke of her son. His medals and photos surrounded their family room but those things couldn’t replace his presence.

Memorial Day meant so much to my uncle. He was a retired serviceman himself. He knew how huge the cost could be. He just never really expected his son to pay that price.

Isn’t that how it always is? We always think it will happen to someone else’s family, in another neighborhood, another town. But sometimes it happens to someone we know and love. And suddenly this holiday from work and school, this three-day weekend filled with fun, takes on a new, deeper meaning.

The Bible tells us that King David’s troops were “brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.” (1 Chronicles 12:8b)

We don’t always agree with the politics of war. But surely we all agree about the sacrifice our soldiers make. And their families as well. They choose to defend our freedoms. They choose to put their lives on the line every day.

“They helped David against raiding bands, for all of them were brave warriors, and they were commanders in his army. Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.” -- 1 Chronicles 12:21-22

Today we remember those who died so that we could live in freedom. We honor them and embrace the loved ones they left behind. We give thanks for the brave warriors who have died.