You lie there on the ground,
Feeling your last breaths slipping away.
Within the chaos around you,
You quiet your heartbeat’s roar.
So much is at stake here,
You have laid it all on the line.
Your mind begins to reason,
Would you do it all once more?
Freedom, independence and unity,
Your soul is still stirred to think,
Was worth your sacrifice now given,
For generations not yet seen.
It was the cause that drew your heart in,
When all reason had abandoned your mind.
You knew there was a purpose,
Much greater than your own dreams.
You fought for what you believed in,
Many horrors you have endured.
You lie there on the ground,
In a peace that’s unashamed.
Your life here now is finished,
Will they ever remember your name?
A soldier dying on the ground,
Knowing that futures have been changed.
Wendi Maddox
Authors Look ~
{This is a revision of one of my first post (May 25, 2020) and seemed only fitting for this Memorial holiday weekend. I pray each of us takes a moment to give thanks for ALL who gave EVERYTHING for our FREEDOMS! No matter where you stand on everything going on . . .Their sacrifice made a difference, and our futures were changed because of it. Give THANKS to God for that kind of bravery and sacrifice!}
Today is Memorial Day, and I have been in a state of GRATITUDE all day while thinking about those who have died on bloody battlefields for the right to freedoms that I live in today. I am overwhelmed with gratefulness, and I honor them today and every day that I live in those freedoms.
Looking back on the wars in history, there were may different causes, and many different reasons behind the purpose of the ones who found themselves in those treacherous conditions. Some were driven and volunteered. Some were hesitant, and was drafted. In the end, there was always something great at stake . . . for someone.
No matter how they ended up there, their bravery is to be honored. The hollowed ground to where they fell and breathed their last breath is to be remembered and given thanks for. The act of a soldier at war is a selfless act. They lay it all on the line for future generations, and a country they believe in; where their own dreams become embedded in the lives of those going forward, carrying the flag of FREEDOM and remembering . . . a soldier, who knew that the price that they paid, made a DIFFERENCE. A great future of hope is in store because they fought and gave their life to defend it. Their sacrifice is a testimony of greatness.
John 15:13 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
May we ALWAYS give thanks in our hearts to them, by the way we choose to live in FREEDOM, proving that their sacrifice was not in vain.
God Bless America!
I read somewhere that Freedom is a choice not an human instinct. Human instinct prefers “being taken care of” or “being told what to do”. That’s why there are still many socialist countries in the world even after socialism was proven to become tyranny. Choosing freedom is an opposite of human instinct. One must make up one’s mind and say “I will be free”. Freedom is so precious. Many people died for it. Yet freedom is getting undervalued these days. In the past so called pandemics, there were no shut downs or mandatory mask wearing. 1969 Hong Kong flue killed 100,000 Americans but there was no shut down. That tells me that people nowadays value life over freedom. We are risking our lives everyday by driving our cars, going into crowds. Freedom requires some risk taking. Freedom of religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom to pursue happiness. They all require certain risks but it’s well worth to take that risk to have those freedom. I don’t want to be just alive without my freedom. It would be just as good as dead. And as you wrote, if I give up my freedom, that would make the death of the freedom fighters a vain.