As we observe this Memorial Day holiday, my mind and heart turn towards all the Gold Star Families I know, love, and have had the honor of serving as pastor and/or friend.
I think about my dear friend who lost his dad in the early years of Vietnam, and then later volunteered to enter the same war himself.
I think of the sister who lost not only one, but two brothers in combat theatre, one killed by the enemy and the other who died by suicide amidst all the grief, and terror, and sadness.
I think of another sister whose younger brother was shot down in a plane over the Atlantic in 1943. He was a kind and tender soul who read his Bible everyday and wanted to enter the ministry when the war was over. Seventy years later she still teared up when she spoke of him.
I think of the father, who after he had lost his son in Afghanistan, said something I will never forget. Between halting breaths and still-wet tears he said, "I prayed to the God of the universe that he would live; and the answer was no."
We should remember the dead today. And we remember their families also. The wound heals, hopefully. But the scars remain. And the salt in the tears can still be tasted -- long after the flag is folded.
Peace to you who have paid such a high peace. Peace to you in the consolation that God also knows.
Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
No comments:
Post a Comment