The Daily Paine

All gave some;
Some gave all!”
–unknown

“Uncommon Valor was a common virtue.”
–Adm. Chester Nimitz

Valor among those in the military, is not a rarity, but it is the norm.  Most of the time the call that comes forth is not one of death and destruction, but when it does come it is answered.  Memorial Day is upon us.  It is the time when we recall those who have sacrificed for our country.  It is not the same as Veteran’s Day, but in a sense all give; it is a time of remembrance.
I had two members of my family who died on foreign soil.  There was a cousin who fell that awful day of June 6, 1944 on the beaches of Normandy.  He is still buried there.  A young man, who never had a chance to see the fruition of his life; one who gave his all.  My uncle, in 1966, died in Vietnam.  He left a wife and three sons at home; boys he would never see grow into manhood.
Perhaps that is why those snowflakes jerks my jaws so much.  They do not have an inkling of the sacrifices that have been given for their freedom, and then they use it in stupidity.  Don’t give me that nonsense that they are just standing up for their rights.  The blood that was spilt on the beaches, the jungles, and the sands is what has given them their rights.  But, that is a subject for another time.
Dave Roever wrote (and I’ve said it before–you need to read his story!), “War will have one of two consequences.  Scars or death.  No one survives war without scars, whether internal or external.  You can’t go through such an experience and not be affected.  However, I am grateful that those ‘scars’ don’t have to become a crutch or a label for the rest of your life.  For others, unfortunately, death is the price paid so that we may enjoy freedom.  It never gets easier to think about.  It never gets easier for the families left behind to pick up the pieces.  There is a void in the hearts of loved ones that will last forever.”
Many years after the death of my uncle the local newspaper came to visit my Grandma and my Aunt for an interview.  There was a hidden agenda behind the interview which never happened.  My Grandma said that “you never stop missing him.”  Throughout the interview the reporter was trying to get them to say how bad the war was, and that we should never had been there.  They wouldn’t succumb to that, because they understood the meaning of sacrifice.  They served a Savior that gave the sacrifice for their eternal souls. 
What is it behind sacrifice?  What words come from the grave and even more so from the risen Christ?  They would tell us to enjoy life to the fullest.  Our lives should come to honor the sacrifices that were made from us; to honor the price paid.  Roever, a person who bears on his body the scars of war continues, “Be mindful of their sacrifice, but enjoy the friends and family gathered at the city park and in the backyard.  Enjoy a time to eat burgers and hot dogs cooked on the grill, to laugh and play, to tickle the kids and go to bed exhausted.  They would not want their sacrifice to end at the grave… .  [Jesus] wants us to be mindful and remember His sacrifice that brought our freedom.  But He also wants us to live in the freedom He purchased.”
Take time to remember.  Take time to reflect.

“We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
–Joshua 4:6-7 (NLT)