Skip to main content

Memorial Day Musings

Memorial Day is always an emotional weekend for me. You see, my birth father served three tours of Vietnam and came home from war alive only to be killed by a drunk driver on the side of the road across the street from our house. I don't dwell on it, but these thoughts are always in the back of my mind during this holiday weekend.

Drinking and driving has always been a hot button for me. As a teenager, I remember getting so angry when I would be in a restaurant and the party at the next table would get plastered, then leave in their vehicle.

When we pastored in Union City, TN, we heard a banging noise one night and found our next door neighbor had fallen and broken his hip after he drove home drunk and fell off his front porch while trying to unlock his house. His wife actually said to me, "I told him I knew he was not too drunk to drive but he was too drunk to walk." Excuse me??? The scary thing is our son, Nathan's room was right next to were he drove into his driveway every night, drunk as a skunk.

Enough of that subject!

I grew up in a military home and in a military town. I did not realize until I married and moved away that intense patriotism was not the norm for everyone. I am so thankful to be a citizen of this country. It is my prayer that as we stay on our faces before God and allow Him to lead our lives, we will continue to see God move in our land. Thank you to all of those who serve in the military and public places!

Comments

Quiltingranny said…
I loved your post. As a police dispatcher, so many years I saw the effects of drunk driving on everyone from accident victims to family members, it is tragic.
Please follow my blog and sign up for my September giveaway!
http://quiltingranny.blogspot.com/2009/09/fabric-and-notion-giveaway.html

Popular posts from this blog

Loving You

Today is my awesome Husband's 49th birthday!! We have been together forever! He has been with me through my very worst and is truly God's greatest gift to my life.  He LOVES when I write him poetry. Below is his birthday poem! Before I knew what love was,                                       You saw me. Before we ever held hands,                                       You knew me. My soul- Your soul  forming together So near, completely unaware…. Unaware that God had a master plan.           In shaping me, He thought of you…. He gave me eye...

The courage to jump

I remember taking swimming lessons as a small child. To graduate from the class we had to jump off the diving board. I stood on the edge every day. I knew I could swim. I had made friends with my lifeguards and knew they would not let me drown..... but I could not take that step. At night I would think about my lesson time the next day. I would imagine myself jumping off the board and swimming to the side. The next day I would be frozen... on the edge. On the final day of class, one of the lifeguards offered to jump with me. She came behind me and wrapped her arms around me and we jumped together. She gained nothing for her efforts but a chipped tooth (true story!) but I had gained the courage to jump into the water. Even though I am now in my thirties, I MAKE myself jump off the diving board at least once every time I go swimming. Not because I am a great athlete or in great shape, but because I don't want to lose my nerve. I know how easily you can get frozen on the edge of th...

Be careful who you tell your dreams to!

I went with my son recently to see a production of Joseph and the Amazing Coat at a local community college. As I sat in the dark theater and watched the young men in the production, one of the lessons in the first part of the story hit me fresh and clear. Joseph told his dream to the wrong people at the wrong time. In his naivity, he thought his brothers would rejoice with him when he shared his dreams with them. Instead, it caused their jealous to turn to hatred of him and the favor of the father on his life. Many times in my own life, I have been too quick to share what God is showing me about the future with others. The truth is not everyone is called to share your dreams. There are circumstances and life issues people deal with that get in the way of their ability to 'rejoice with those who rejoice'. Just because you are there for other people does not mean they are capable of being there for you. Wisdom teaches us to wait and be careful about our conversation and 'the...