Submitted by Meredith Cooper, Europe Region Financial Liaison
There are feelings I associate with the arrival of each season, and summer is no exception. With the recent arrival of Memorial Day, I start to feel a tendency toward all things patriotic. And, it doesn’t start and stop with Memorial Day. After all, we still have Independence Day just around the corner. And, Flag Day!
When Memorial Day begins to roll around you hear many people say that we need to take the time to remember what our patriotic holidays are all about – after all, it’s not really about the cookouts and days off of work, right? It’s really about taking a moment to be thankful for all who have died for our freedom.
This year, however, something occurred to me. It is really important to remember the sacrifices of those who died for our freedom. But, they aren’t here anymore. Here in Europe, we have a plethora of military memorials and cemeteries to visit, and it is stirring to do so. Last year on Memorial Day, our family visited the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands to place flags on the graves of our fallen. Not only was it moving to see the endless rows of men who died for their country, but it was equally inspiring to see the numbers of Dutch who routinely care for the graves of their liberators.
But, again, these patriots are gone. We can’t actually thank them for their service to our nation. So, how can we really pay tribute to their sacrifices? James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
As women who are part of a greater Protestant Women of the Chapel ministry, many of us have been affected by the deaths of fellow active duty service-members or those who have served with our spouses. All of these circumstances have been tragic, and we have pledged to do what we could to help the spouses and children suffering as their loved ones were taken suddenly. But, as time goes on, how many of us really fulfill the pledges that we made to check in on our friends and make sure that we could provide comfort in the midst of their ongoing sorrow?
We are in the midst of serving our country during a long war. We proudly do what we can to serve during this time. But, there is a lot of suffering going on around us. There are women who are spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. There is no greater way that we can honor those who have died for their country, or those who are continuing to serve far from home, than taking care of those left behind.
