Memorial Day poem: Memorial by John Stuart

Memorial

Silently,

I will remember the host
Of men and women
Who paid the cost
For the Freedom I enjoy.

Respectfully,

I will remind
The next generations
Of the sacrifice
That previous generations
Gave to preserve our Liberty.

Tearfully,

I will recall those still living,
Whose hopes and dreams,
Lives and loves
Were completely altered
By unavoidable war
And selective service.

Proudly,

I will stand with them
And embrace the Stars and Stripes
In my heart and soul,
Feeling strongly connected
To its past, present, and future.

Thankfully,

I will honor those
Who selflessly gave of their youth,
And those who are still giving of their lives,
So that I and all others
May have a Freedom worth living,
A Hope worth advancing,
And a Life secured by Liberty.

(c) John Stuart 2013

Memorial Day Devotion: Peace and Freedom Are Not The Same

Some people think that Peace and Freedom are mutually the same. They’re not. Peace is an absence of conflict where tyranny can prevail; just ask the good people of North Korea what they want most: peace or freedom? Remember, tyranny escalates when good people take their freedoms for granted.

Freedom requires a defending of our liberties which can only be sustained if we are willing to fight for them; Freedom triumphs when good people are willing to sacrifice themselves for the liberties of others.

That’s why I thank God for all our Armed Forces today and especially for those who gave of their lives. May they honorably rest in peace as we honorably cherish our Freedom.

Memorial Committee

As I looked out from the pulpit this morning,
I could see all the people
In our living Memorial Committee.

A lady in a wheelchair
Who, at the age of twelve
On her home island of Hawaii,
Watched Japanese planes
Fly across the sky
On their way to bomb
Pearl Harbor.

Across the aisle
Sat another lady,
Whose young Jewish parents had given
Her away to a Dutch couple,
Just before they were arrested
By the Nazis
And taken to a Concentration Camp
Where they died.

Three rows behind her,
Was a man who had been
Amongst the first American troops
To liberate European Jews from
Hitler’s Death Camps.

Behind him was a farmer’s wife,
Whose brother
Had been seriously wounded
On a beach in Normandy
June 6, 1944.

Four pews in front of her
Sat another man
Whose father
Had been a fighter pilot
Over the English Channel
And into France.

On the other side
Sat another woman,
Whose husband
Fought alongside
Fellow marines
Across several
South Pacific islands.

In the soprano section
Of the church choir,
Sat the preacher’s wife,
Whose father had been rescued
Off the coast of Italy
After his British destroyer
Was torpedoed and sank by
Enemy aircraft.

And sitting quietly,
At the back of the choir
In the tenor section,
Was a paratrooper,
Who at the age of twenty,
Had miraculously survived
The Battle of Bastogne
In that deadly winter
Of December 1944.

With such members
In our Memorial team,
We will never forget
Those who served
And died for Freedom.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Memorial Day Sonnet

Memorial Day Sonnet

If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember what my freedom cost,
By those who gave their all to keep me free,
Whose lives were sacrificed, but never lost.
I will remind myself of what they did,
And keep them dearly cherished in my heart;
Their honor never from me shall be hid
And I will know they always did their part
To save our nation and its people here,
To pledge their lives in defense of our ways,
To show that freedom always outlives fear,
And sacrifice is hallowed all our days.
If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember those who kept me free.

Audio for Sonnet here

© John Stuart 2008
Pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church,
Knoxville, Tennessee

Memorial Day

For the Veterans

We will remember them,
Even though the years of peace
Have swiftly gone and lately passed
And men of war can't rest at last;
We, who are free,
Will not forget how once they chose
To fight and die on distant shores
For love of us and liberty.

We will remember Him,
Even though the years of grace
Have distanced each succeeding race
And men of God seem out of place;
We, with our faith,
Will not forget how once He chose
To go and die upon a cross
For love of us and liberty.

He will remember us,
Even though the years of life
Fly swiftly past before our eyes
And man is dust beneath the skies;
He, with His power,
Will not forget all those who choose
To follow Him and never lose
Their love of God or Liberty.