Praying for and with Veterans on their Day

[Dan Crawford]

One of God’s greatest gifts is memory.  When we remember, we sometimes sit in a recliner and reflect.  Other times we do something in response to memory. Today, people will place flowers at grave sites, and memorials of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  Others will attend ceremonies in cemeteries and at national monuments.  Still others, will pause in the midst of worship services to remember and pray.  We act out our remembrance and our appreciation, for those who served in the past, and those who serve today.  For me that includes a father and two uncles who served in the U.S. Army during World War II, a brother who served in the U.S. Army National Guard, and a son who served in the U.S. Marine Corp, and continues to serve with the U.S. Homeland Security.  On this Veterans Day, may we pray for those who still serve, perhaps praying 1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”  May we also join with those who serve in praying for peace.   General Douglas MacArthur said, “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”