A Day To Remember

So, my family and I visited the annual Memorial Day ceremony in Ocean City, NJ this morning. On a day where most of the nation spends time at the beach, in the mountains, eating hot dogs and hamburgers or shopping for all the sales, a few still take time to (if only an hour or so) to recall what the day is really all about.

I can tell you it was sobering to hear the names of the local men, those with the same hopes and dreams that all of us have. The only difference is their dreams never came to be. Life was cut short on some far off shore, in some damp, dark jungle half a world away. Families were left to grieve and we reminded that communities like Ocean City were left to only wonder what contributions these men might have made to their hometown. It really makes you think hard about the many things we take for granted each and every day. We have been given an awesome gift of life and freedom. I don’t want to squander that gift. Much too high a price has been paid to let days roll into weeks and weeks into months and years to not make a difference where God has placed each of us.

It’s good to remember if only to cause us to reflect and renew a commitment to bloom wherever we are planted in life. Now go make a difference wherever you are planted.