Grilling. Parties. Going to the beach. Having fun at the pool. Working in the yard. Having fun and enjoy a three day weekend. Memorial Day weekend is enjoyed by many in various ways. It seems to mark the beginning of the summertime fun in the area where I live. As a child, teen and even college student I do not recall thinking about Memorial Day weekend very much. I just went about my day and weekend and "did my thing". As a young adult in ministry and even more recently I have new appreciation for Memorial Day and it involves more than enjoying a three day weekend. Actually a four day weekend for many because they take off from work on Friday. Being a part of Sunday morning worship experiences where people offer prayers of thanks for freedom, where people may wear their military uniform and for 15 years living in a area with a high military presence Memorial Day is actually becoming Memorial Day to me and my family. Having watched many war movies with my son (who really likes war movies) for many years now helps me be more thoughtful and thankful for people who serve in the military and for people who have died while serving in the military. Having visited the Arlington National Cemetery with a young Coast Guard man who has relatives buried there has helped me become more thoughtful and thankful for freedom. Standing at the cemetery and gazing across the well groomed lawn dotted white with reminders of life and death I was moved to remember, to give thanks, to ask God for forgiveness for taking life for granted and to live not just be alive. This weekend for me and my family will be fun. We will celebrate my sons B-day, we will enjoy some water sports, we will enjoy good food, we will enjoy friends and "No school on Monday". I will seek to remember. I will be grateful for freedom, I will thank God for salvation, hope, freedom, meaning, purpose and I will remember His goodness, His grace, His working in my life. I will remember and live. I hope you too will take some time to remember. Be thankful, speak to your friends and children about the God given priveledge and responsibility of freedom in the U.S. and freedom as a follower of Jesus Christ. Remember.
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children." 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Deuteronomy 4:9-11
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