Memorial
Day is a happy day for those who get a Monday off half way through the
year. There are great sales going on and
a little extra time to shop them. The
weather is usually a little cooler, so it is a nice day for a picnic or a
parade. I always love Memorial Day as a
happy gift in the middle of living. I
know it is coming; but every year when it comes up, I feel surprised and know
that I need it to catch up on things that have been piling up for a while. It has become a bonus day that I never know
how much I need until it arrives on the calendar.
Since I
haven’t lost a close family or friend soldier, it is easy for me to totally
forget the reason we Americans celebrate this holiday. For many it is another sober reminder of the
husbands, wives, sons, daughters, moms and fathers, who are no longer part of
their daily living because of their call to serve our country in the
military. The last Monday in May was
dedicated as a federal holiday after the Civil War for both Confederate and Union
soldiers. We need days like Memorial Day
to let our souls process the sadness of loss.
So if you are like me and don’t have a solider to mourn today, remember
those who have lost someone very significant to them and the soldiers who have
returned home wounded and in need of mending from their physical changes and
trauma resulting from combat experience.
Take some time today to pray for all who are grieving. They don’t need just a day to fix what is so
torn apart in their souls. Days like
this come and go, but their loss and hurt remain. Pray that today, we as a country will untie
around them and that they will reach out to God and grief support communities
to find the peace that God wants them to have in spite of their great
losses.
My Great, great,
great grandmother lost her son in the Civil War. He didn’t die in battle, rather while keeping
guard with phenomena on a rainy night.
She regretted that she had not prayed every day for her son while he
served and asked all the women in our family to pass down the message to pray
every day for their son’s (she never imagined daughters would be soldiers) who
became soldiers. I’m sure she was going
through the stages of grief—self-blame—but I’m grateful for her message as my
mom passed it down to me. It was men and
women like my great, great, great grandmother who came together in unity and
established this federal holiday. The
families from the North and the South may have remained divided on many issues,
but they were united on the sadness and loss as well as pride and honor they
felt for their beloved fathers, sons, husbands and friends.
I’m going
to enjoy my much needed day off this year.
Personally, it will mean more to me as a gift from God to catch up on
some things left undone. But I don’t
want to leave it at that. I want to pray
for my country. I want to thank God for
the freedom to live here and worship Him without threat. I want to pray for those who are living with
the losses of war, both the survivors and the families of soldiers that were
killed in war. May they feel our prayers
surrounding them on Memorial Day! May
they open their hearts to the healing work of the Holy Spirit. May they feel the appreciation of a country
and citizens who are deeply grateful for their sacrifice. In spite of death’s toll, all believers have
this hope: Brothers and
sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so
that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who
have fallen asleep in him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
Copyright ©2015. Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
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