While we embrace a long weekend, spending time with family and friends - many of us for the first time since the spring of 2020 - it's easy to experience the true meaning behind this holiday - gratitude.
This respite from everyday life, celebrated since the 1800's and made a national holiday in 1971, was set aside to remember and honor men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. While many of us kick back and enjoy backyard barbeques or lakeside revelry, others use this time to visit historically significant locations, cemeteries, and places of worship. No matter how we mark this holiday, pausing to be thankful for our daily lives, our many liberties, our bounteous freedoms is healing. Going deeper into gratitude not only honors fallen men and women and their families, it means the world to those who are still grieving.
Interfaith thought leader Patricia Campbell Carlson says, "Grief and gratitude are kindred souls, each pointing to the beauty of what is transient and given to us by grace." As we experience Memorial Day 2021, hopefully emerging from this very challenging time in our country, the feeling and expression of gratitude can bring us into greater healing.
Thank you to the men and women and their families who make our American experience possible. We are in debt to you and are forever uplifted, encouraged, and grateful for your sacrifice.