My plan for your future is filled with hope!
Jeremiah 29:11
Memorial Day began as an opportunity for us to remember the service people who’d given their lives for this country. Whether drafted into service or enlisted by choice, each one fulfilled an obligation which he or she accepted to the end. Though some may have wrestled with doubt, wondering if anything is worth dying for, we know the final outcome. Today, tens of thousands of flags decorate the graves of those who completed, as best they could, what they set out to do.
Our Memorial Day remembrances have grown to include all who’ve passed from this life to the next. Though they didn’t don military garb to endure the trials of battle, those whom we mourn assumed roles of great importance to us. Whether our parent or spouse, our child, another family member or friend, those we mourn fulfilled their roles in this life as best they could. Sometimes, they achieved great success and their impact upon us was a source of great joy or growth or satisfaction. Sometimes, they failed and their impact was precisely the opposite. We mourn our loved ones because of their humanity and in spite of it.
The truth is that, after we bid these final farewells, our memories focus less upon failures and more upon the happy and amusing and amazing times we shared. When we take the time to step back and to appreciate the full impact of our our loved ones’ lives, their contribution to the Big Picture becomes more clear. So it is that with gratitude -and sometimes forgiveness- we wish our loved ones heaven’s joy.
Today, as we remember our military personnel and all of the good people who have lived their lives for us, let’s smile between the tears. God assures us that they have found joy in the hereafter and, one day, we will, too!
Thank you, Dear God, for the promise of eternal joy with you and for the loved ones with whom we will share it!
©2021 Mary Penich – All Rights Reserved
Mary Penich 
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