“…In the
future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them…
These stones are to be a memorial…”
- Joshua 4:6b,7b (NIV)
Memorial
Day is one of those holidays that sometimes gets misunderstood. People see a
Veteran and say, “thank you for your service.” And while it is always good to
honor and appreciate Veterans, Memorial Day is specifically set aside to
remember those who never came home. Veteran’s Day in November honors those who
served. Memorial Day honors those who gave everything.
My family has deep military roots. My grandfather fought and was wounded in World War I. My Dad was stationed in Italy during World War II, and while researching family history on an ancestry site, I discovered his draft papers for Korea — something I never even knew about. I also have family members who served during Vietnam, and close friends and loved ones connected to Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and the wars that followed.
Some came home carrying nightmares and memories they could never fully escape. Some came home forever changed, only a shadow of who they once were. And some never came home at all.
That is what Memorial Day asks us to remember.
In Joshua 4, God instructed His people to build memorial stones so future generations would stop and ask, “What do these stones mean?” Those stones mattered because people forget. Time moves on. Life gets busy. But sacrifice should never be forgotten.
Memorial Day is more than backyard cookouts, mattress sales, or an extra day off work. It is a pause. A sacred reminder that freedom has always carried a cost paid for by sons, daughters, husbands, wives, parents, and friends whose families had to learn how to keep living after the knock on the door no one ever wants to receive.
Today, may we remember well. May we honor the fallen. And may we never take lightly the freedoms that came at such a high price.
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
- Joshua 4:6b,7b (NIV)
My family has deep military roots. My grandfather fought and was wounded in World War I. My Dad was stationed in Italy during World War II, and while researching family history on an ancestry site, I discovered his draft papers for Korea — something I never even knew about. I also have family members who served during Vietnam, and close friends and loved ones connected to Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and the wars that followed.
Some came home carrying nightmares and memories they could never fully escape. Some came home forever changed, only a shadow of who they once were. And some never came home at all.
That is what Memorial Day asks us to remember.
In Joshua 4, God instructed His people to build memorial stones so future generations would stop and ask, “What do these stones mean?” Those stones mattered because people forget. Time moves on. Life gets busy. But sacrifice should never be forgotten.
Memorial Day is more than backyard cookouts, mattress sales, or an extra day off work. It is a pause. A sacred reminder that freedom has always carried a cost paid for by sons, daughters, husbands, wives, parents, and friends whose families had to learn how to keep living after the knock on the door no one ever wants to receive.
Today, may we remember well. May we honor the fallen. And may we never take lightly the freedoms that came at such a high price.
Daily Inspiration from the Bible
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