The forgotten origin of Memorial Day

Every time I have traveled overseas over the years, I have returned home with an even greater gratitude for our nation. However, this fact makes Memorial Day our nation’s most conflicted holiday for me.

On one hand, it’s the “unofficial start of summer,” with vacations, family time, blockbuster movies, and so on. It’s a three-day weekend with flags waving and patriotic sentiments. Any day that celebrates our nation, its history, and its blessings is a day I’m excited to share.

On the other hand, its official purpose is to remember the men and women who died in military service to our nation. Unless we have lost a loved one in this way, we cannot fully comprehend the gravity of such sorrow.

I am the son and grandson of veterans, but neither died in the wars they fought. If I lost a parent, spouse, child, or grandchild in this way, the mixture of pride in their service and grief for their loss would be like nothing else.

Couple this with the fact that many Americans seem not even to contemplate the day’s true meaning. Memorial Day is often conflated with Veterans Day and made into an amorphous celebration of America and Americana. More attention is given to backyard barbeques and summer plans than to the purpose the day exists to serve.

In a sense, this is true of all grief. When someone loses a loved one, those who know them will typically rally around them for a time. We attend the memorial service or funeral, stay in touch with their loss for the coming days and perhaps weeks, but then return to our “normal” lives and subconsciously expect them to do the same. Their lives will never be the same, but we don’t want to carry the burden of living with the loss with which they live.

And so, they move into a new pathway in life marked by grief and the loneliness of walking that path alone.

Why you cannot be alone in life

The good news is that our Father is as loving, compassionate, and concerned about our grief today as when it first struck. As the great “I Am” (Exodus 3:14), he is not bound by time. CS Lewis was right: if we think of time as a line on a page, God is the page.

As a result, if you are feeling the loss Memorial Day is intended to mark or grief of any other kind, know that you do not carry your burden by yourself. Your Father is walking with you through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4), while your Savior is praying for you right now (Romans 8:34) and the Holy Spirit is living in your life and experiencing all that you feel today (1 Corinthians 3:16).

If you are a Christian, you cannot be alone in this world (cf. Matthew 28:20). There is no place you can go that your Lord does not travel with you. There is no temptation you face that he will not help you overcome (1 Corinthians 10:13). There is no problem you cannot bring to his throne of grace and mercy (Hebrews 4:14–16).

And if you experience the Memorial Day weekend on a visceral level of loss, know that for him, every day is Memorial Day.

“The reality of his presence never changes”

To this end, consider three reflections:

• Craig Groeschel advises, “Never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God.”
• Alexander MacLaren added, “Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.”
• And Max Lucado notes, “We are always in the presence of God. There is never a non-sacred moment! His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of his presence may falter, but the reality of his presence never changes.”

If you need such assurance, I invite you to embrace it by faith. If you are not facing such grief, please pray for someone you know who is. And intercede for the millions of Americans for whom Memorial Day is a sacred day of sorrow and pride.

Those they grieve are the heroes of our nation. They paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we celebrate today.

May their service and sacrifice never be forgotten.

 

Denison Forum