Monday, May 31, is Memorial Day when we remember those who have fallen in the service of our country. Celebrated since around the Civil War, it is a way to remember with thankful hearts the men and women who have given their lives to secure our freedom. At one time the holiday was celebrated with parades down the center of most towns with flags on the graves of the fallen soldiers. Today, those big parades are silent now and the gravesites of those soldiers are long forgotten, unadorned with flags. Now, we hear the excited shouts of children as they jump into the swimming pool for the first time this summer.

However, pausing to remember the fallen soldiers helps us understand the high cost of freedom. Who is going to know unless we share those stories in our families? Have you shared the story of your service to our country? Were you a soldier in World War Two, the Korean or Vietnam conflicts, or another situation? Have you shared those stories with your family and children? Your stories will help your children and grandchildren get to know you better. And, your stories will give them needed guidance when they face hard times in their own lives.

Here is a picture of my grandfather as a soldier in World War on the way to the European Theater. There, as a young man seeing the world for the first time, he faced his fear of death and the hereafter and came to a realization that life was worth more than a quick glance. He celebrated the Lord’s Supper with fellow infantrymen in a foxhole one Christmas. That experience changed his whole life’s direction and he became a Christian missionary on both foreign and American shores, sharing the hope he had found in that foxhole, facing death.

This Memorial Day, take some time to talk to your family about their military service. Here are some questions that might help you get started:

When did you serve?
Where did you serve in a foreign war?
With whom did you serve?
What did you do in the service—in what branch did you serve?
What was your part in the history of our country?
How did the family left behind cope with your absence?
How did they play a role in supporting you and the war effort?
How has your service made a difference in your life?

You have a legacy in your family. The war years are a part of that legacy. For some of us, a family has given their own sons and fathers. For others of us, we can still at the feet of our family members and listen and learn, using those lessons as we live our lives in the 21st Century. Be sure to write them down so the stories will not disappear. Old photos can bring a new depth to our stories.

Let's Celebrate Mother's Day

One Saturday night, Dad and I went to fill my car with gas for the upcoming week. Just as we turned left, a car ran a red light, crashing into my car on my side. In the night, the lights of that car, the screech of brakes and the bone-crushing sound of two cars colliding and screams in the night brought dreams of a fairy tale senior year to a dramatic halt.

I woke up in the hospital with my mother by my bedside. Broken bones, uncountable bruises, lots of glass embedded in my eyes and skin and terror met me in that night. But there was Mom speaking encouraging words right there through the night. She rarely left my side through the days of that followed.

What a Mother’s Day gift she gave me that year!

She is gone now but that Mother’s Day stands out in my mind as a picture of the love and concern that only a mother’s hand can gently administer.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and you too have lots of memories of your mother.

How are you going to commemorate Sunday as a special time? Card and flower shops, department stores, and dozens of on-line sites offer all kinds of dazzling gifts for you to buy for your mother. And, in our busy days, the fancy gifts beckon our attention, providing an easy way out. However, this year, why not do more and give yourself to your mother? Spend some time with her, listening with your heart, hearing her tell her story. Here are some questions to get the conversation going.

How did you typically celebrate your mother on her special day?
What was it like to celebrate Mother’s Day for the first time?
What is your favorite reward of motherhood?
What is one memory you have of my childhood?
What is one piece of advice for the next generation?

Taking time for a conversation face-to-face or on the telephone can make this Mother’s Day special.

Weather and Life Goes On

Good afternoon! I thought I would write out some thoughts for this March 2, 2010.

Snow is expected--sort of.

Sunshine has disappeared for a few more days. More to come, I am sure!

You know, the weather is more than just a conversation starter. One of the most amazing developments in these last few years is that the weather has its own full time army of staff on a 24-hour channel or two. So, the weather is more than just a conversation starter--it has become the the conversation.

Isn't it interesting that what takes up most of our time is something about which we can do little about. We just react and are the victims of it...or change our habits or clothing or plans to get along with it!

You know, recently, I read a diary of a lady from the early 20th century and she mentioned the weather every day. It was just a note, unless it was something other than fair for the spring and fall, hot for the summer, or cold for the winter months.

So, I guess weather will continue to be a part of our lives even though we live in climate-controlled lives indoors and travel in climate controlled vehicles.

So, life changes and stays the same. That's part of the legacy we leave for the next generation!

Sorrow and Hope

Today I'm thinking about sadness. When my grandfather died, my father said to me, “I just thought I would not have to give up someone else this year.” Those were some of the saddest words I have ever heard. Mother had died the July before and now it was January and we were standing in a cold cemetery as the dirt filled over the coffin of my maternal grandfather. Not long before all this, a family friend had committed suicide, leaving a husband and four daughters. On top of all that, I had just gotten married to my husband, Don, a happy event for all concerned, but it represented change. And, change seems to bring a certain kind of sadness even in the midst of great happiness.
So, this morning after I had talked and prayed with a grieving friend whose brother had just committed suicide, I felt like I had been on this wilderness journey before.
What do you say to someone who is facing such unfathomable sorrow? A pat answer doesn't give real comfort to a broken heart. If we celebrate birth as a natural aspect of life, then honestly, we must embrace death as an apparently unequal partner in this rhythm of life. One brings great joy and the other leaves us lost in sorrow. Both are bookended by questions.
Just today, I was reading a devotional that said faith is believing that the past is gone, the present is just today but eternity is forever. Eternity is a door that opens to a place where there are no walls. While that is a lovely thought for the future, the present is filled with doors that open and shut and lock and walls that keep us locked in, locked out, or just keep us from seeing farther than our own reality.
However, it is so hard to look up from the sadness that surrounds us and threatens to engulf us and it turns out just to be irritating background noise to the magnificent symphony of Heaven. How I long to hear that eternal, sweet music that will leave this sadness miles behind.
So, I guess the words the Apostle Paul penned so many years ago to the Thessalonian Christians become the words of encouragement I need today: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV

I do plead for that sweet unfathomable peace that I might hear the eternal music of heaven rising from the ashes of my sorrow today.