Memories & Memorials

I went to Washington DC a few years ago and one of my favorite things about our nation’s capital is all the memorials. These memorial sites tell story after story of bravery, sacrifice and leadership. I think the one that most moved my heart is Iwo Jima – there is such a story of bravery and struggle in that. I can only imagine the situation where these young men were struggling and fighting fiercely to take the new ground in the war.

Memorials are profound memories for the people whose lives were affected by the sacrifices made to lead and make things better for our nation.  I think it is profoundly wise to take time to remember those who’ve gone before and sacrificed on behalf of people they didn’t know or would never meet. They gave and supported a dream and an idea that all men and women were create equal in God’s sight.

Joshua was leading the people of Israel across the Jordan river on the dry riverbed. The Lord had stopped the flow of the river for safe passage. The Lord instructed a memorial to this pivotal moment in the historical journey of His people. Check this out….

¹⁹ The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. ²⁰ It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

²¹ Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever. (Joshua 4:19-24 NLT)

I am grateful for the men and women who’ve gone before me and fought for the freedoms that I now enjoy. I live in a peaceful place and I can enjoy the sunrise from the warmth of my home. I can enjoy a hot shower and a hot breakfast. There are men and women who are in very challenging circumstances protecting and guarding these freedoms. I must NEVER FORGET the sacrifices made. I am so grateful for leaders who fought for our country’s constitution and bill of rights.

I’m going to continue to go to Memorial Services to celebrate a life lived. I will also continue to stop by monuments erected in honor and in memory of a powerful moment in time that shaped the future for so many others.  I have a few monuments in my own journey with the Lord. I can go to the place where I first accepted the Lord. I can go to the place where my faith became my own. I can go to the place where my deep pain was. I can go to the place where great joy was experienced. (This could become a long list!) These places can jog my memory and remind me that my life is bigger than me and that the Lord can use even me to help shape someone else’s journey with Him.

Pressing On!

Dwayne