Memorial Day with guest blogger Julie Marie Rahm

Hello everyone. I'd like to introduce my sister in Christ Julie Marie Rahm. She tells us about Memorial day and what it means to her. I'll let her tell you about herself.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. It commemorates U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Guardsmen who died in the line of duty. And on this Memorial Day, I feel honored, privileged and delighted to be a guest blogger for the amazing and talented Victoria!

I am proud to be part of a family who serves in our nation’s military. My father served in the Navy and Naval Reserves for 24 years. My husband served in the Marine Corps for 26+ years. And, our son-in-law serves in the Air Force and recently returned from Afghanistan.

As a little girl I can remember going with my family to a National Cemetery on Memorial Day and listening to speeches by Veterans and politicians. “We are here today to honor those men and women who gave their lives in the service of our country…” The word “gave” was upsetting to me, because my dad was in the Navy and I wanted him to be alive for a long time. I did not talk about it at the time. I thought about it for years.

Now I understand. People misspeak about our fallen service members. No one in the military willingly gives up his or her life. On an individual level they are willing to risk their lives and place themselves in grave danger for our country and for each other. Sometimes the risk turns out badly. It is our country and its leaders who are willing to give the lives of our service members. It becomes easy to think of the “military” as an inhuman entity, not as an organization of valuable human beings created by God. As a nation we need to be mindful of how we use our military power, only as a last resort when we have no other choice.

So as I listened to politicians speak on this Memorial Day and heard the words “… honor the service men and women who willingly sacrificed their lives…” I was reminded of the one man who truly did willingly sacrifice his life, Jesus Christ. He gave his life so we who believe in Him may live free from the bondage of sin and death and look forward to eternal life with God in heaven. That is an important message today. What comfort it brings to families and friends of fallen service members to know that their loved ones are in a state of pure positive energy basking eternally in the indescribable love of God.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on Memorial Day. I invite you to follow my blogs at http://www.americasmindsetmechanic.com/ and http://www.militarykidsspeak.com/. May God bless you, your family, our nation and our world!

Thank you Julie Rahm for taking the time to write about Memorial day. It's an important day, that Americans often forget about. God gave the ultimate sacrifice, and these men and woman are following in His footsteps.

Here is the link to a video for Memorial Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nJTqpKlZ9U&feature=related
To God alone be the Glory.