Memorial Day

My original intention was to share only pictures with you today to encourage a moment of silence as we embrace this day of remembrance. But I then began to realize God had placed words on my heart to share.

As I write I continue to wait for my husband’s return home from serving in harm’s way. The last time we touched one another was Thanksgiving weekend. In two short months I will say good-bye to my oldest son when he departs for his first deployment. I would do just about anything to be able to hold my family close today.

Before becoming a military family I admittedly treated this day with gratitude for simply having a day off of work. Reflecting on those we've lost in service to our beautiful country now brings many tears.

My son taught me a lot on what it means to honor these heroes. His first two years in the military were spent spending countless hours attending to the meticulous details that came along with being a Ceremonial Guard for the United States Navy. This meant He honored our heroes as they were laid to rest.

Not everyone he honored had been killed in active duty but all had served their country. All at one point in their life stood ready to give their own life for another . . . for us.

To prepare for a funeral the guardsmen had to properly clean and press their uniforms. Shoes and any brass they wore were polished to perfection. They trained on the ceremonial aspects of a funeral until the point of being able to perform with their eyes closed. Numerous inspections took place to ensure they upheld to the honor they were giving.

For two years my son put aside his chosen career in the Navy to remember and honor our heroes. Becoming a Ceremonial Guard was not out of duty but a willingness to lay down his own desires for another. Five days a week he made his way to Arlington National Cemetery no matter the weather conditions to ensure these men and women received the honor they had earned.

Because he took his role as a guardsman seriously, he was asked to serve as part of the ceremonial detail as Astronaut Neil Armstrong was laid to rest at sea.

Photo credit

Photo credit

On Memorial Day the verse from John 15:13 is typically shared: "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend."

No one portrays this kind of love more than Christ.

I see the example Christ left for us and I see the faces of the men and women who also left us with a powerful example of a willingness to lay down their life for another. I see the faces of both my husband and son, and those serving alongside of them, who stand willing to leave loved ones behind to serve their country.

Today not only do we remember our fallen heroes; we honor their sacrifice. We need to honor their sacrifice, and willingness to sacrifice, today and every day with the same honor they were given as laid to rest.

I believe our heroes leave us with a message on how to do just that: Keep moving forward with a willingness to love one another with that same kind of love . . . a sacrificial kind of love . . . God’s kind of love. Because there is no greater love than to put aside our own desires to love another.

Let the sacrifice made by so many fuel our hearts to love one another. Love others by following His example.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of our fallen heroes. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.