Memorial Day. Two small words that evoke a great variety of thoughts for different people. Many may see it as a time to celebrate the three day weekend and repass from work to get in some lake time or have a cookout with friends. To some, it brings the reminder of lost loved ones who have served in the military. For others, it engenders childhood memories of family gatherings at the gravesites of loved ones. For far too many it triggers traumatic memories of things they would do anything to forget.
I remember as a child, it was a time to go to the family cemetery and put flowers on the graves of loved ones. Brushing away debris from the headstones. Gently tracing the letters of their names. Placing a pinecone I had found on my father's grave. My mother shared memories of making tissue flowers with her grandmother and having a picnic as they gently placed their homemade memorials on their loved ones' graves. We were not exactly a military family as I would think of them now, but my uncle served in Vietnam (and bore the physical and emotion scars of his service), my brothers both enlisted for a few years in the military and we had a history of veterans from nearly every war in our family. But it wasn't something that really touched our lives like it does for so many others. I felt removed from the impact of military life as many others may feel. I didn't even know my uncle served in Vietnam until I was an adult.
Memorial Day now has a very different meaning to me, a deeper meaning. I was a military wife for nearly a decade. I have been a military mother for half that time. When you have close loved ones in the military, the real meaning and purpose for Memorial Day is better understood. If you are a military family, you see firsthand the cost that our loved ones bear in that service. There are the extreme physical demands, the emotional toil, the lack of control in many aspects of your life (where you live, how far you may travel, how you spend your free time), the weight of responsibility of serving, and trying to shield your loved ones from the things you have seen and the experiences that have shaken you to your core. There are also burdens that the family bears: spouses trying to parent alone while their loved ones are deployed, starting over again and again as you move from one duty station to another every few years, long periods of separation during deployments and trainings, trying to help your soldier fight the demons that you cannot see or understand. Some who serve are injured in the line of duty or have seen others wounded in combat. There is an emotional, spiritual, and often physical cost that cannot be seen. There are deeper wounds that are often hidden deep inside. Many who are no longer serving continue to fight the battle and effects of their time in service as does their families.
Celebrate the time with your family and friends. Remember the loved ones we have lost along the way. Please also remember and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. Pray for our military members, their families, and those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. Please remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. If you are a military family, thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your great love for others.
John 15:13 (NLT) - There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.
If you or a loved one fights the mental, emotional, and spiritual battle of the traumatic events that you have experienced; I pray for you. I pray for peace. I pray for healing. I pray for restoration. But more than anything, I pray you will face your demons and get the help you need. I know all to well the cost that can come from not getting the help you need. There is no shame in needing to heal from the things you have experienced, things that no-one should have to endure. PTSD is real and it steals, kills, and destroys so much for our soldiers and for so many others who have experienced trauma in their lives. If it all becomes too much for you, please reach out for help.
コメント