We Have It So Good

Happy Memorial Day! 

Over the years I have taken Memorial Day for granted, maybe not actual Memorial Day, but the meaning behind Memorial Day. I used to think of it as just another day off of school/work, a good 3 day weekend, a great day for grilling out or going to the beach. But I find the older I get, the more it means to me.

Both of my grandfathers were in WWII, My Dad's dad (Bapa to me) was in the Navy, and my Mom's dad (Gramps) was a Marine. I heard some crazy war stories through the years, but I never really understood what they went though, what veterans in general have gone through, to make my life as an American so great. 

It's so easy to get caught up in the high gas prices, horrible politics, deteriorating education system, Christian persecution, taxes, among many other things, of this country and take it for granted. But the fact is- WE HAVE IT SO GOOD! We have freedom in SO many more ways than most people in this world, and I appreciate that more and more every day. I am thankful. 

Last night Ross and I watched the movie The Great Debators- good movie! It highlighted a lot of what African-American's had to go though in the 1930's, It is hard for me to even conceive what people had to go through in those days of racism. After the movie we watched the National Memorial Day Concert that took place in D.C. and they had war veterans giving testimonies of what they went though and saw in countries they fought in...it was so moving and heart wrenching. 

We Have It So Good! I never want to take the sacrifices of the older generations for granted. We must remember, we must make sure we tell the stories to the next generation, not so they are just "Stories" to them, but so they can grasp what happened so we don't have to face those things again.

Joshua 4:6-7

"to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

We must keep memorials of what God has done in our lives, and of what people have done as sacrifices for us, as not to forget or take for granted the freedom given to us. So on that note, Happy Memorial Day, make sure you take the time to learn about, give thanks for, and try to understand how we really do have it so good!