“OF ALL THE THINGS I’VE LOST, I miss my mind the most!,” so declares the bumper sticker I saw awhile back. The sad truth is that over time memory fades. The things that were once so clear now appear as foggy images from last week’s hastily passing dream. This memory loss seems to deepen as we grow older, it’s part of the aging process they say, ugh, I hate that process.
One of the reasons we need holidays, like the one we celebrate this weekend, is because without them we would soon forget the important memories that have brought us to this point in time and that make us who we are.
In 1868, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared General Order #11 that officially set aside of day of remembrance for those who died in the Civil War. It was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. As the years past it came to be a day of remembrance of all of those who gave their lives through any of the wars that would follow, and there have been a few. In 1971, by act of Congress, it was moved to the last Monday in May, and thus, is so celebrated.
It’s too bad that we need these days to cause us to remember, but given our individual and national memory loss, I suppose it is a needed thing. It’s just that we should remember those who gave their lives without having to be reminded. For whom we are today, and the freedoms we enjoy, is because these brave men and women gave all for the service of their country. And so we stop to remember and reflect and pray for peace.
I wonder if this isn’t why God, in His wisdom, set aside the Sabbath?
To remember…lest we forget.