I originally wrote this post a year ago on Memorial Day, 2019. It’s so strange how in one year’s time, things can change so drastically. I think that speaks a lot to why we need to pause and celebrate today. In the midst of so much loss, worry, confusion, and historic times, our country needs the reminder of the past losses we have endured and thank those who have given their lives to the cause of freedom. Today, our war looks much different than wars of the past. Today, men and women on the front lines are cashiers, nurses, delivery workers, shelf stockers, doctors, and the endless list of people who continue to help keep the rest of us safe during these unknown days.

I said last year that on Memorial Day, around the country schools and businesses have closed for the holiday. I had no idea last year that at this time we would be in the midst of schools and businesses being closed for going on three months now. We can’t gather with large groups or freely and mindlessly go get meat at the grocery store to grill today. Things are more complicated, and sometimes even scary. That is why today we need to remember what this holiday is about. We need to offer our thanks to the men and women throughout history, and today in this very present time, that have given their lives for this country. Today, we need to stop and thank God for His provisions and use this time of pandemic to call out to Him, as our ancestors before us did in this nation.

The words below were written on Memorial Day, 2019:

Around the country today, schools and businesses have closed for the holiday. It is easy to just think that Memorial Day is simply the start of summer. A lot of people will get to the nearest body of water for boating and picnics and cookouts; I for sure will. In the middle of our barbecue stained mouth and sticky marshmallow fingers it is really easy to forget why we actually have this Monday off.

Memorial Day is a day we celebrate all of the men and women who died to keep our country safe, free, and a place where we can all go after the pursuit of happiness. In today’s society, where many things are handed to us, where our freedom flows as naturally as water, it’s almost difficult to really understand this day.

This past summer my family and I took a trip to Boston. Being a history nerd I was especially excited to walk the Freedom Trail. It is called the Freedom Trail because there are at least 16 historical places along the trail that are significant to the building of America. While you walk along the trail and you see the Boston Common and Paul Revere’s house and the very site where our Founding Fathers declared how we must be free from tyranny, you can’t help but get a little lump in your throat. Over two hundred years ago this group of men and women saw a vision of something so precious they were willing to give up their own life, and even die, for such a cause. Without their initial sacrifice, none of us would even be able to pack up a cooler and head to the lake today.

It is so easy to not take a few moments and remember. One of my favorite historical shows is Turn: George Washington’s Spies. This beautifully done show captures the true stories of George Washington’s Revolutionary spy ring. Up until watching the show, I didn’t have any sort of understanding that there is an entire group of people who went to extreme measures to fight for the cause of liberty. In the last episode of Turn, George Washington turns to one of his lead spies and says, “Our country owes its life to heroes whose names it will never know.” How true that is.

Amidst the laughing and the grilling and the games, pause and remember today all of the men and women who willingly gave up their lives so we can live in a place that is a light and beacon of hope to not its citizens, but to the rest of the world. I will end with one of my favorite quotes from John Adams, “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”