May 31, 2004
Happy Memorial Day. Now Pay Attention.entry,
Today, May 31st, is Memorial Day in the United States. Originally the day was set aside for visiting the graves and the memorials for those fallen defending our freedom, but with so many people getting the day off of work it ends up being spent kicking off the summer with barbecues, boating, and the assorted consumption-in-excess that marks pretty much every other American holiday.
I'm not saying don't have fun. I'm just saying that now would be a good time to think about why you're ABLE to have fun. There are soldiers in harm's way today, right now, and they've earned a moment of your reflection, meditation, or prayer.
I just got back from a week in a foreign country. In my travels over the last decade I've seen parts of the world where freedom has been very recently earned, and is a little more cherished, a little less taken-for-granted than it is here at home.
They say that God helps those who help themselves. By extension, "God Bless America" isn't going to happen unless we give a little bit of thought to blessing her ourselves. So please, take some time today to think about the freedoms you enjoy, to give thanks to those who've made that possible, and to consider what you can do to make this a better place for all of us.