Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, observed all over the USA. For some of us, it means a day off work, for others, its just another day. I took the picture above of a cemetery in Fort Madison, Iowa, this morning. Beautifully decorated in honor of Memorial Day.

But for many, it is a day to remember what might have been. A day to remember young, invincible and optimistic men and women, who went off to war and never came home. A day to feel proud that they gave their lives, but also a day to feel sad or angry, because of a seemingly senseless loss of young life.

Memorial Day was first observed in 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery, and the tradition continues today. In 1915, Moina Michael, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields" wrote this to remember soldiers on Memorial Day.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

So today, I shall take a moment and think of these men and women, heroes, most of whom never lived half as long as I have. I am in awe of them, and their commitment.

I thank God for those who have died on our behalf, and may He bless those who are left without sons and daughters, fathers and mothers.