Sacrifice

It looks to be a beautiful Memorial Day weekend, in Athens Georgia, at least. The weather is perfect for grilling out and downing a few cold beverages of choice with your friends and family. Maybe take in a concert, go to the lake, hike in the mountains – a perfect time to enjoy the beauty and bounty of our country. At its heart, Memorial Day is not about grilling out, mega sales, or a day off from the regular grind. It is a day to honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives in service to their country.

I believe it is also a good time to remember what sacrifice means. It means there are parents who will not spend another Christmas with their son. It means there are boys who will never toss another football to their dad. It means there are girls who will never again feel the comforting embrace of their mother. It means the families left behind have a harder road ahead because a loved one is forever gone. These are hard, real, human sacrifices. A soldier’s sacrifice is not limited to their death, but extends through their family and friends. It is fitting that we should take time to remember the fallen. It is just as important that we take time to remember and help the families left behind because their sacrifice continues.

Courage

On this Memorial Day weekend we set aside time to remember the men and women who have given their lives for their country. The bravery and courage of our fallen heroes will be mentioned in speeches, songs, and gatherings all across the country. In a culture steeped in action movies with larger than life characters portrayed by the likes of John Wayne and Sylvester Stallone, it is easy to imagine that the men and women serving in our armed forces are fearless; caring nothing for their personal safety as they conquer the forces of evil in the world. However, courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is fully understanding the peril about you and proceeding anyway to perform your duty. The brave men and women who gave their lives were not cinematic action figures, immune to pain, suffering, or terror. They felt fatigue, pain, anguish, and fear the same as any of us do. Despite all these very human feelings, they found the courage to perform their duty. I hope on this Memorial Day we will also find time to pray for the brave men and women serving around the globe. Every day, fully aware of the peril, they overcome their fatigue, pain, anguish, and fear to perform their duty. That is courage far beyond Rambo.