Today is Memorial Day.  A day that many choose to go to the cemetery to pay their respects to loved ones who have transitioned from this earth into the next life.  A day that people will choose to attend services to remember the sacrifices that our military heroes have made to protect the freedoms that we take for granted. It is a painful day for so many as the crushing weight of loss is brought to the surface again.  And a day that is a first for those who have lost a loved one this year.

However you observe Memorial Day, I hope that you can find some time to remember the good.  What do i mean by that?  If you have lost a loved one, reminisce about a great memory.  Ponder a time when you spent quality time with that person.  Because memories are what we have left of those who have gone before us.

Remember the good in the hearts of those who sacrificed their lives for us. Their belief in our freedom.  Their calling to make the world a better place. Remember a special gift you received or gave and the impact it had on the other person.  Remember the love someone had for you and the love you had for them.

On Friday I walked through our local cemetery and stopped at Grandpa and Grandma Bensink’s headstone.  It was a warm and breezy day.  Their stone is in the shade.  And I could remember both of them sitting in the shade in lawn chairs drinking a glass of sun tea, as they called it.  And I thought of the conversation we could be having on a day they would have deemed perfect.  It was so good to ponder those memories.

But those memories reminded me that I don’t get to make any more memories with Grandma and Grandpa on this earth.  As I walked away from their stone, I whispered I will see you soon.  Because in the frame of eternity, I will see them soon.

And my memories reminded me that even though I have made all my memories with them, I have so many great memories ahead of me with the people in my life.  The question is this- Will I choose into those memories or be distracted and mentally elsewhere?  Someday it will be too late and we will have made all of our memories.

But for now, it is not.  Definitely remember.  Even more, make new memories.  Start today.  it is never too early or too late to #WINtheNOW.

And a huge thank you to all who have served and defended our freedoms, especially this guy, radio specialist Ernest J. Recker.  What I wouldn’t give to have one more conversation with you!