ETERNITY

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Memorial Day Reflection

Memorial Day is an opportunity for reflection and to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Many have served and continue to serve our nation – and we should be grateful for them, but there are also many that served and gave up their lives for the sake of the freedoms that we ever so quickly take advantage of, without even a thought of what it costs those that gave their all for this great nation. As we gather together today with friends and family, let us reflect on a few famous words spoken:

“We don't know them all but we owe them all.” ~ Unknown Author

“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.” ~ General Douglas MacArthur

“If words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.” ~ President Ronald Reagan

“This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom.” ~ Tamra Bolton (freelance writer and photographer)

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” ~ President John F. Kennedy

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~ Joseph Campbell (American writer and Professor of Literature)

“We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~ Cynthia Ozick (American short story writer, novelist, and essayist)

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” ~ Nathan Hale (American Patriot and soldier during the American Revolutionary War)

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” ~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” ~ Bob Dylan (American singer-songwriter)

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” ~ Arthur Ashe (American professional tennis player)

“I had reasoned this out in my mind: There was one of two things I had a right to — liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other.” ~ Harriet Tubman (American abolitionist and social activist)

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.” ~ G.K. Chesterton (English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, a literary and art critic)

“A battle lost or won is easily described, understood and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.” ~ Frederick Douglass

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” ~ Elmer Davis (American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman)

“Let their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.” ~ Daniel Webster (American lawyer and statesman)

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” ~ President John Adams

“I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it’s marked by the blood of those who died defending it.” ~ John Thune (American politician)

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” ~ Winston Churchill (British statesman, soldier, and writer)

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” ~ Thomas Campbell (Scottish poet)

And the most famous quote of all time:

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” ~ Jesus Christ (Creator, Judge, and Savior of those that accept His gift of salvation)
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Thank you to all of the great heroes who laid down their lives in order that I can live in earthly freedom, and thank You Lord Jesus Christ for Your ultimate gift of sacrifice for the opportunity to have eternal freedom!






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