Memorial Day weekend is in full swing now.  Facebook is running over with photos of people out and about enjoying the extra day free.  Some will spend their time at the lake.  Others are doing the usual stuff in the yard or around the house.  A few do make mention of the original intent of the holiday.  This is always an unusual occasion for me.  My birthday is two days away from now.  It always revolves around this observance.  That didn't bother me too much when I was younger but it does cause a little anxiety the older I get.  But it is also true that I am grateful for any birthday at this rate.  But that is only a small piece of my point.

It was about five years ago that I spent this weekend up in Washington D.C. with our high school band.  I got volunteered somehow into being a chaperone for their end of school trip.  No one could be the same after such and experience and I don't mean by a bus loaded with kids.  We walked in Arlington Cemetery that weekend among all of the flags set on every grave there.  Grave markers are as far as the eye can see.  Knowing each person laid to rest there served our country was a sobering moment.  People such as a common soldier to past Presidents are buried among the hills and trees of the grounds.  Each one is united by service to the point of sacrifice.  No amount of beauty can ever deny that reality.  I also watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Breathing becomes difficult observing the quiet ceremony when one guard replaces another.  Every person in this country should see this in person.  It is a moment never to be forgotten.

We do live in the land of the free but I do wonder about the brave.  We remember that bravery of so many on this weekend.  But we also should consider our level of courage when it comes to being a citizen.  You know as I do that we are too often a country of complainers at the least when it comes to our conditions.  You realize how we forgot the words of President Kennedy when he said we should ask what we can do for our country.  Much of our initial history was based on a primal courage to fend for our self.  We did believe in God even if not always as we wish we did.  But there was also a great sense that we could survive or even thrive no matter the odds.  Today we have way too many waiting for another person to do something even if they criticize what takes place.  The history student in me wants to scream over how far we drifted from the character of those who made this land what it was.   Now it's possible those founding fathers would not recognize what we are becoming.

Political parties or candidates are not really an answer.  Changing laws or repealing some may be a short term fix but still falls short.  I believe the real solution is in the character of our people.  This does include a biblical faith but is much more than that.  It would require two generations of character building to undo where we are.  But it also means doing this one day at a time.  Make a positive difference in the life of another person each day.  Be the change you want to see in our country.  Be part of the blessing we desire God to shower on our nation.  I know most if not all of this may wind up no more than wishful thinking.  But a guy has to start somewhere. 

Bro. Trey