Happy Memorial Day

"It is the Soldier, not the Reporter who has given us the freedom of press.It is the Soldier, not the Poet who has given us the freedom of speech.It is the Soldier, not the Campus Organizer who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.It is the Soldier who salutes the Flag, who serves beneath the Flag, and whose coffin is draped by the Flag, who allows the Protester to burn the Flag."

Having served in the Army, I think there is kind of an unwritten, unspoken covenant that soldiers make with their country. They say “I’ll risk my life, maybe even lose it, in a cause I may not fully grasp or agree with. I’ll do it for you because I am one of you and you have asked me to do it – It’s my duty, this is my country, and my country has called upon me. I will answer the call wheneverand wherever it comes and I will fight for you.
My dad gave me a quote (not sure who its from) when I graduated from Officer Basic that has always stuck with me – “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.”

Unfortunately, I think its often easy for us to lose sight of the soldiers (and the airmen, sailors and marines) as the battle wages on. Its like a favorite team that has gone on an extended losing streak. When they’re winning and in the hunt for a championship, we are there cheering for them. When things get tough we don’t even think of them or read of them in the newspaper or watch to see how they did on the newscast. So many of our military men and women in uniform sacrifice so much for our country and they deserve our support and prayers at ALL times – whether we support the conflict/administration or not, we should always support our troops.

I talked to a gal at church this weekend (with her 2 young boys hanging on her leg) who’s husband is in Iraq for a year. As she walked away, I thought of the sacrifice he and their whole family is making for ME, and it brought tears to my eyes as she walked away. The sacrifice of a soldier effects him/her, their spouse, children, family and friends in ways that we seldom stop to think about.

Take some time to remember and pray for our troops, not just on Memorial day and Veterans day, but on a regular basis. Don’t forget that our freedom is not free. Thank God today for the freedom that he has given us all in this great country. Happy Memorial Day.

Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

For any History buffs, go to this link for the Smithsonian Military History Museum’s The Price of Freedom Online Exhibition