“Memorial Day Every Day”

“Memorial Day Every Day”

May 24, 2017

Memorial Day in the United States honors the men and women who have died in military service. Earlier, the event was called “Decoration Day” because people placed flowers on gravesites. In national cemeteries, it is typical to see a small American flag at each grave.

Saying goodbye is difficult when death takes a loved one. There is added grief when a person dies during military action as they served to protect our country. Hearing taps played and observing the military part of a veteran’s funeral always brings tears. Standing in a cemetery and realizing the freedom we enjoy is a timely reminder of the price others paid on our behalf.

Events like Memorial Day get a lot of attention. Consider July 4, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and Easter. I am grateful for these yearly reminders of events and people. But if I show appropriate honor on only one day and give it little or no thought the rest of the year, I have missed the purpose. The special day should remind me to be appreciative every day. It is far too easy to let the emotion of a day fade into the busyness of life.

This is especially true of Christmas and Easter. To honor the birth of Jesus on Christmas or celebrate His resurrection at Easter, and then live in selfish pursuits the remainder of the year, is abuse of those events. The same is true of Memorial Day if we forget its purpose by destroying the freedoms we enjoy.

Jesus left us His reminder of what He has done for us in what we know as Communion or The Lord’s Supper. Most of His followers celebrate the actual symbols periodically; however, their value is in remembrance on a daily basis – even hourly. Memorial events should be a part of our life experience often – perhaps every day of the year. We honor our veterans this weekend when we appreciate them continually.

Pastor Bill Ehmann

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT POSTS

Cloud Focus

By wvbaptist | April 29, 2020 | 0 Comments

April 29, 2020 While watching bulky white clouds move across a beautiful blue sky, my mind went to Acts 1. After Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples, “giving them convincing proofs that He was alive,” He told them to […]

Patience

By wvbaptist | April 22, 2020 | 0 Comments

April 22, 2020 “Patience is a virtue, learn it if you can; seldom found in women and never found in men.” I will not speak for anyone else, but the last four words of this adage speak of the journey […]

He Called My Name

By wvbaptist | April 15, 2020 | 0 Comments

April 15, 2020 A number of things Jesus said and did while on Planet Earth make me think He had a sense of humor. Recently, I have thought about this in light of Resurrection Day. He had told His followers […]

Easter Celebration In Isolation

By wvbaptist | April 8, 2020 | 0 Comments

April 8, 2020 I do not recall an Easter Sunday when I was not in church. Perhaps a snowstorm cancelled an Easter service once during my growing up years in Colorado – that is possible. Easter is always spent at […]

When Staying Home Was A Choice

By wvbaptist | April 1, 2020 | 0 Comments

April 1, 2020 These days we are forced to stay at home as much as possible. For some families, this may be a new experience. I have been thinking about the time when staying home was a chosen way of […]

Scroll to Top