I consider myself a red,white and blue ACD [American Cattle Dog].
And this patriot dog is ready to beg for God to shed His grace on us – again.
This is a three-day weekend, the start of summer. It is time to go camping,
grilling, fishing, and everything summer!
But more importantly, Memorial Day, is really none of those things, and it’s true meaning is much more.
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865 and claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history, was the reason the country’s first national cemeteries were needed.
By the late 1860s, many American towns held springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time – does anybody know and practice that?
With time and more war, the day came to honor all fallen soldiers, and changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, and went from being observed on May 30, to the last Monday of May.
This weekend, I will watch as mom opens a trunk of artifacts, most over a 100 years old. There is a civil war discharge notice, from a distant relative. Most of the trunk is filled with items, not so distant, from a great-uncle who died in a French forest weeks before WWI ended.
There is the flag.
And now we have another folded flag, too.
Take time today to remember those who have defended this country’s freedom, which seems to be more at risk than ever. Take flowers to a cemetery; we’ll be taking a red, white, and blue bouquet down the road, to where Dad lies, his first Memorial Day there.
Attend a parade, a veteran’s event, put up a flag. And teach your children the true purpose of the day. Teach them the National Anthem, America the Beautiful, and the Pledge of Allegiance, too.
On this Memorial weekend, watching how so much that brave soldiers have fought to defend, disintegrating before our eyes – knowing the sacrifices made, the fierce love for this country and freedom –
All I can say is thanks. By the grace of God, this old Heeler will not lose it without a fight.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7
