Yesterday morning, hundreds of millions of people woke up and went to church.
In some places around the world, many people risked their livelihoods, their safety, their families and even their lives to worship together.
If you live in one of the nations where you can go to church without fear, let’s take a moment today to be thankful for that.
In America, today is Memorial Day. Instead of going to work, people will gather for BBQs in backyards and parks. They’ll go to community pools, beaches and riverbanks for water play. In those and hundreds of other ways, we celebrate this day that has become the unofficial first day of summer.
But this day off isn’t just an excuse to eat hamburgers and hot dogs.
Our Choice Because of Their Sacrifice
Yesterday, the biggest choice Americans had about church was whether-or-not to go. Not whether-or-not they’d lose their freedom because of their choice.
It didn’t cross the mind of one single person living on American soil that their choice to go to church or stay home would result in the police or soldiers breaking in and hauling them off to jail for their choice. That is truly an amazing thing.
That happens every Sunday because millions of brave men and women have made sacrifices to defend those choices for over 200 years.
Some of them gave their lives.
This day is for those heroes.
This short blog post is my wholly inadequate, but sincerely heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who has served. And, most of all, my profound gratefulness to those who gave their very lives.
I worshipped yesterday without fear.
I write today without fear.
I speak my mind without fear.
For those and so many other freedoms I enjoy every day without fear, I say “thank you”.
So what do you think? What would you like to say to thank those who have given so much for our freedoms?
We want to hear from you. Yes, you!
Enter your comment right below this post and get in on the conversation.
(Never Forget Cross photo from Binh Nguyen • Flickr • Creative Commons license)
