Celebrating Memorial Day

Life’s Like This — It seems that each year, in the face of a holiday from work and the leisure activities it offers, we have to remind ourselves why we celebrate Memorial Day. The day itself is meant to be a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that America’s men and women have made in the service of their country. Yet, for most of us, the true meaning and observance of Memorial Day has been relegated to the side-lines, one that has been supplanted by trips to the mall for advertised sales, laying out at the pool, picnics, and other events that have nothing to do with the honoring of those that sacrificed their lives in the defense of our country. But for those who have lost loved ones in service to our country; for the millions of veterans who know first-hand the hardships of military service; and for those American’s that understand the emotional toll and personal sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, Memorial Day is about honoring those that gave their lives so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have as Americans.

Willing to Wait

Life’s Like This — From the mundane to the profound moments of our lives — from waiting on traffic lights and elevators to the end of suffering or the fulfillment of dreams — life gives us no choice but to wait. Yet waiting is not a quality that most of us can honestly say we have, in fact, patience seems to be a virtue in short supply. In our fast paced, hectic world, patience seems to be eluding all of us in some degree or another. It isn’t surprising to find ourselves caught up in situations where it would be helpful to have that extra degree of patience to help us get through a difficult situation or even seemingly insignificant moments that can cause us undue stress. There are some of us that seem to have the patience of Job, a man that lived a very faithful and righteous life, yet endured one infliction after another without ever cursing God’s name. It would be nice if we could all lay claim to the example of Job, but unfortunately, we instead get frustrated or angry with the situation we are confronted with and often resort to behavior that is shameful or simply immature. And when we lose patience in any given situation, it is, in most cases, ourselves that suffer the consequences of our behavior.

Wall of Shame

Life’s Like This — Quite often, God will give us opportunities to demonstrate the things we have learned. Hopefully, we are good students of life and learn our lessons well. But in reality, each of us have our unique learning curve, and because of that we may require extra coaching in some areas of life. I find this especially true in matters of faith and how we live out our Christian lives. As Christians we are called to reflect the life and ministry of Jesus Christ — a tough act to follow. If it was meant to be easy, then there would have been no need for Christ to die on the cross for our sins, because prior to His crucifixion, just as it is today, mankind was caught up in willful disobedience and constantly turned to the pursuit of self-interests rather than the fulfillment of God’s Word. God does not expect us to be perfect in any of our endeavors, but He desires us to have a heart in pursuit of Christ-like behavior and thoughts so that we can be brought into closer harmony with His will and purpose for our lives. It would be so much easier for us to live Christ-like lives if when we went through a spiritual transformation that left our new-found faith and love for God so deeply embedded in us that nothing could separate us from His will. As much as we may want to be faithful in our walk with Christ, the nature of sin and its constant tug will always be present and seeking to undermine our relationship with Christ.

Unbridled Compassion

Life’s Like This — A thoughtful act or kind word may pass in a moment, but the warmth and care behind it stays in the heart forever. It seems that you can’t go a day in your life without something pulling at your heartstrings, something that arouses a deep concern or sympathy for the plight of others. It may be a story you hear on the news, one that speaks of a family searching for a missing loved one. It may be images of children in third world countries living in squalor and whose bodies are so emaciated that they are on the brink of death. And, it may be those children with special needs, who live with a variety of debilitating conditions that we may sometimes prefer to close our eyes to and pretend they are not there. The truth is, there are countless people whose lives are filled with despair, and who, on the surface, may appear to be living lives with no hope for the happiness that we so often take for-granted. Unfortunately, even within our own family, circle of friends, neighbors and people we work or associate with, there can be sadness and hopelessness that cries out for someone to show some compassion and understanding for the situation that is consuming their thoughts and day-to-day lives. This is the nature of life — it is filled with told and untold stories of those that are in need, who are suffering from situations or conditions, and that are in need of people to reach out in a spirit of love and compassion to help them through the storm in life they are passing through.

The Blessing of Maggie

Life’s Like This — Blessings come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. As humans, we have a need for companionship unlike any other creature on this earth. God must have had this in mind when he created us and then populated the earth with all kinds of living creatures, especially those that we have domesticated and have taken into our homes to love and care for. It should come as no secret that cats and dogs have taken a place in our families and that our attachment to them can be as strong as their human counterparts. These precious creatures each have their own unique personalty and characteristics that make them who they are and have a way of forming an emotional bond with us that is unbreakable. While some people might gravitate more to dogs that have come to be known as “man’s best friend” — cats with their independent spirits, can evoke a bond that can be just as strong as a dog. I realized this recently, when my wife and I made the difficult, but timely decision, to have Maggie, our 17 year-old cat euthanized. It was a decision that caused a swelling of emotion and flood of tears that I had not expected, tears for a cat that was unlike any other cat that I had known.

The Christian Family

Life’s Like This — We all need relationships that stimulate and challenge us to become the people God wants us to be. God did not mean for us to go through this journey of life alone. He wants us to have relationships with each other that are loving, supportive, and fulfilling. Finding the right people to enjoy a Godly relationship with is critical for our spiritual growth. For some of us, we like to wing it by ourselves, hoping that our relationship with God can be strengthened without any interaction with our fellow man. But that was not God’s plan — God did not mean for us to be alone; He created us with the intention to have fellowship with each other; to have relationships that will nurture friendship and bring us in closer harmony with God’s will for our lives. Once we recognize the need for Godly people in our lives, we can then continue our christian journey with renewed zeal and hope for happiness that is founded on God’s Word and our relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

God's Precious Gift

Life’s Like This — With all the blessings we can receive from God, the blessing of forgiveness is perhaps the most precious gift of all. It would be quite difficult to go through life and not be offended or hurt by someone; It may be a stranger, co-worker, friend, or even a family member that causes you distress and feelings of animosity. Whatever the source of pain, the act of forgiveness can free us and allow us to go forward at peace with ourselves and at peace with the one that caused the offense. A story of profound forgiveness was beautifully portrayed in the film, “OctoberBaby” in which a young woman was faced with choices after learning, not only that she was adopted, but that she was almost never born because of a failed abortion attempt. As a result of the failed abortion, she had to cope with numerous health conditions that made life difficult for her. But upon learning the reason for her health problems was directly related to the failed abortion, this young woman set out on a mission to find her birth mother and to try to understand why she was not wanted by her. Along her journey of discovery, she comes to understand how she could finally be free of her anguish by extending the simple act of forgiveness.