So many things have been said in honor of our beloved men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country.  Memorial Day is set aside as a tribute to those whose lives were lost.  Though we celebrate our freedom and are indeed thankful for it, the price has been great, and Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it originated, is a time to observe and recognize those who died while serving our country.  In 1868, after the American Civil War, the organization of Union veterans founded Decoration Day and declared it a day for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.  By the 20th century the Union and Confederates who had celebrated on different days had merged, and Memorial Day became the day to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.  

Though I know few well who have served, and even fewer who have died, I cannot possibly know the pain of saying goodbye to a loved one going off to war.  The heartache of them never returning?  Unimaginable.  The funny thing about me is that my heart is simply captured with honoring these brave heroes of our freedom.  The commemoration of their lives unto death grips me in a way that even I do not understand, and so I will always express highest respect and gratitude on their behalf...especially on this particular holiday.  

I know there are thousands of lives that have been changed forever as the result these courageous men and women who were lost.  Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers....few have been immune to the grief of losing a loved one as our nation has and continues to defend its own.  Lord, surround these families with a cloak of your comfort.  Thank you for those brave champions we will ever honor as the heroes who have bravely paved our road to freedom. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA