"For those in peril on the sea"
On this Memorial Day weekend, I think of all the people who have put their lives on the line for others. I am the daughter and granddaughter of veterans. My Dad was a Navy Chaplain and my Gramps served in the British Army since the US military wanted only a handful of Indian men. Today other people's children, parents and loved ones are in harm's way for the rest of us. Sometimes the conflicts are justified, sometimes not - and yet having life on the line still is the same.
As we travel and celebrate, I am reminded of the serious consequences of a few leaders selfishness, greed, unchecked desire, overzealous religious fervor or the need for retaliation. In this most recent conflict we have lost over 4000 troops and the number still is climbing. They are lives that can never be retrieved. I am also reminded of how politics doesn't solve anything, and lives get put in the balance for ideas and control.
My prayer as I travel this holiday is that I can remember the serious and tremendous gift that others -both immediate family and total strangers - have given me. They have offered their lives. Christ offered his life for the world. For Christ's eternal gift and for theirs, I am eternally grateful. And I pray for those who are still at risk, in sea, sky, and desert -amidst conflict not of their making. They want to be home with their families, like all of us. May God give us the grace to end conflict and live from here on out with a humble heart.
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