Today is Memorial Day...so what?

"It's just another day"..."A stupid holiday"..."An extra three-day weekend"...oh, and this one is my personal favorite-"Not a big deal to anyone; it's Monday, so what?"

These are just a few of the comments I have overheard lately as this weekend came approaching this past month, in Starbucks, at the supermarket, and at the doctor's office. And it just blows me away...how people have no reverance for what this holiday stands for.

Well, I'll tell you what it stands for...



Dan B. was my grandpa, but to those who knew him, friends and family as he grew up, he was always Danny, or Danny Boy. And it will always be my pleasure to say that when I was born, I was named after him. He fought in WWII, and told me countless stories of horror, fear, but they always included hope. And there were several that included a prayer I'm sure he prayed more often than not, "Lord, if you let me live through this, I'll do whatever you want me too....Don't let me die today..."and he didn't. He came home, though he saw old friends from his small town fall in France, and other places he fought, he came home, and married my grandma. (Another cute story for later.)

This was grandpa as I knew him, a picture I took several years ago, around 2006 at the Monterey Bay Aquerium...Jellyfish in the background. This man was well known for many years in our community, and at his memorial service, we saw that nearly three hundred people had been touched by his love of Christ over the years, and that's not even counting the people who called and told us they could not make it, but gave condolences. What an amazing life he led, also another story for later.

This is what sits atop a hutch in my mom's living room, we are so very proud to have this display, and honored as well. For those recieving the flag at the service of their loved one, the fathers, brothers, sons, and the mothers, wives and daughters that these flags are in tribute to, no longer with them, but on some level being a comfort to those families, we, as a family, my parents and I, and those that we all consider family, we take comfort in knowing that he fought the fight that is most important, and he won the race that he set out to win, so many years ago. He walked into those courts with thanksgiving in his heart, and he entered our Father's courts with nothing but praise...

We should all recognize today for what it is...it is Memorial Day for a specific reason, to publicly acknowledge those that have fought so that we can publicly say This Is The Day The LORD Has Made...I Will Rejoice And Be Glad In It.