Ponderings: Memorial Day

Greetings in the name of Jesus!

This Monday May 26th. marks a federal day reserved for remembrance of fallen veterans. What a great privilege it is to live in America. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude for the freedom and liberty that we all enjoy in this great nation. And how much more our hearts should be filled with gratitude towards a real and living God and the promise of everlasting life.

Please remember in prayer those loved ones with relatives that have passed on from this life.

Be well, do good work and God bless,
Bro. Ed Underwood

The following is remarks made by Abraham Lincoln in observance of memorial day and also a speech made by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.

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...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God, ...and that government of the people by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.
- Abraham Lincoln

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Message on the Observance of Memorial Day
May 26, 1983

Memorial Day is a time to take stock of the present, reflect on the past, and renew our commitment to the future of America.

Today, as in the past, there are problems that must be solved and challenges that must be met. We can tackle them with our full strength and creativity only because we are free to work them out in our own way. We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.

I don't have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. Every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are reminded that liberty is a rare commodity in this world.

This Memorial Day of 1983, we honor those brave Americans who died in the service of their country. I think an ancient scholar put it well when he wrote: ``Let us now praise famous men . . . All these were honored in their generation, and were the glory of their times. Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.'' As a tribute to their sacrifice, let us renew our resolve to remain strong enough to deter aggression, wise enough to preserve and protect our freedom, and thoughtful enough to promote lasting peace throughout the world.

- Ronald Reagan