Memorial Day

As I get older, Memorial Day seems to weigh heavier on me.  It used to be a day off, a day for sales and picnics and parades.  But now I find myself reflecting on the meaning of the day and the underlying pain of remembering.

Yesterday as we approached First Community Church there was a display of flags which I told a companion looked beautiful on this sunny day. 

In the bulletin of the church was this description:
"It is a remembrance of those service members and veterans who perished due to invisible wounds related to their military service.  The phrase for these casualties is "22 a Day" which speaks to the number of military veterans who are taking their lives every day.  This display of 44 flags with the story of 44 lost warriors represents one weekend (2 days) of "The Silent Fallen" lives lost due to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other silent killers."

This was a sobering reminder of the reality that the sacrifice of serving in the military is more than just the "time served."  It may affect the rest of your life and, of course, those whom you love and live with.  The sacrifice is beyond words.

And so on this memorial day, I am in prayer pondering the challenge of living in a world in which war is continual and lives are always at risk and the wounding can go on forever.  We honor those men and women who have sacrificed in ways that many of us never will and pray that somehow we can try to seek peace, to negotiate, to reconcile, to build bridges. 

There was a quotation in the church bulletin yesterday by Henri Nouwen that I share today:

Did I offer peace today?  Did I bring a smile to someone's face?

Did I say words of healing?  Did I let go of my anger and resentment?

Did I forgive?  Did I love?

These are the real questions.

I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now

will bear many fruits, nere in this world and the life to come.