Remembering To Never Forget

     Remembering things has never been an easy task. When I was a kid, people would put a string around their finger or a rubber band on their wrist to help them remember things that they were trying not to forget. Simple things, like picking up milk or bread at the store or picking up the dry cleaning on the way home from work. 
     As a young adult, there were organizers, dashboard scratch pads, and mini cassette recorders to help us never forget the "small, but important stuff". Nowadays, we have wonderful "smart" phones that not only help us remember ("there's an App for that") but also shows us everything we need to know about anything we ever wanted to know about everything. (Help!)
     Sometimes it's easy to see how some folks lose themselves in the journey. We all need "markers" along the way that reflect our chosen path so that when we do lose our way, we can remember where we came from and hopefully not have to re-trace our steps back to the beginning.
     Holidays, Celebrations, and Remembrances are the ways our country and culture provide those "markers" naturally. In recent years we have "moved" some of those "marker"dates for our convenience and lost a little of the remembrance for the next generation to understand. It saddens me when the focus of the day becomes something other than what was intended originally. It's hard for young people coming up to understand who we are as nation and people if the main focus of those times becomes our personal leisure.
     Thankfully this weekend of Remembrance and Memorial still stands as a beacon among many of our "defining days" that celebrate those who have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we so richly enjoy by the grace of our Heavenly Father.
     Friends let's savor, pause to remember, and be thankful this Memorial weekend. So that we never forget where we've come from and who we are as a nation and people. Hold your children close and tell them why they must never forget.  God Bless the United States of America .