The Shadow of Your Wings

A few weeks ago our pastor told a story about a young American soldier in Iraq. The tank he was driving tracked over an IED. The other men in his unit watched in horror as the vehicle burst into flames. When they were finally able to approach every heart ached with the certain knowledge of what they would find - when suddenly they heard the screeching of the hatch being opened from the inside. All eyes on the blackened husk of the tank each man held his breath, more from fear than the smoky fume. Slowly the hatch rose, flipped, and a hand emerged holding a small, camo covered Bible high. One soldier’s testament to the mighty God he served.

As Pastor shared this story I noticed the shoulders of the man in front of me begin to quiver, then shake uncontrollably as he wept. He, I knew, was a Gulf War vet. A member of an Armored Division - a tank driver. He’d seen too much. Too many mighty machines of war become tombs for his fellow soldiers, his friends.

This early Memorial Day morning I am trying to be quiet. My husband sleeps peacefully. He has the day off. He deserves this day off. He is a veteran of 2 tours in VietNam, 23 years of military service. He, too, has seen too much. Memorial Day, for him, isn’t pleasant. It causes him to remember things he’d rather forget. Not the men, or the camaraderie, but the loss of those friends on the battlefield. It’s difficult for him to separate the two - memorializing the living men he knew, often laughing, often frightened and the terrible memory of their deaths.

To most of us this is a day to celebrate a day off work, our freedom. It is a blessing for the majority of us to think of it that way. We might breathe a word of thanks on behalf of those who have ensured that freedom for us as we pack up the picnic baskets and load the coolers and head for the lake. Many, sadly, won’t give it a thought. Too few of us really consider the cost of our “Monday holiday.”

To those who do - the soldiers fighting even now, the families who wait, pray, hope - I thank and bless you, as I pray and hope with you.

To those who have survived the battles, I salute you. May you know, this Memorial Day, that you are remembered, and honored along with your fallen comrades. Thank you for your courage and your willingness to defend this country and freedom.

In memory of those who fought to their death to procure freedom for this and other nations, I am humbled and grateful. To their families - I weep with you, and pray for you as you bear the sorrow of the “ultimate sacrifice.”

May our lives be worthy of the sacrifice.