Sunday, December 7, 2014

Pearl Harbor Day 73 Years Later

December 7, 2014

Seventy three years ago, my father was a twenty year old young man, in love with his high school sweetheart, my mother. They had no idea that Sunday morning that before the day was over, their world and that of so many of their friends would be forever changed. Without warning, the Empire of Japan attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor, catapulting the United States into World War Two. A few years ago, Peter Jennings wrote a book in which he called those who responded to the call of duty "The Greatest Generation," an apt description of my parents and their friends. They sacrificed, and in doing so, fought an implacable enemy to their knees with almost singleminded national determination. Many in my own generation responded in much the same way, but with the additional burden of returning to a society that rejected instead of honoring their sacrifices. Today, those entrusted with leading this great nation of ours seem unable even to bring themselves to utter the word "enemy," let alone muster the will to fight.

Those who have faced the enemy know better than most of us how horrible war is; I cannot presume to speak for them, but I will not speak against them. I am grateful every day for those who don uniform, knowing that in doing so, they become the target of those foreign or domestic who seek to destroy that which we value. They love home and family as much as any of us, but know more than most how thin the line between civil society and anarchy. They walk that line every day with the realization that any step could be their last.

There is much for which I give thanks today: the privilege of bringing God's life-giving Word to his people, the tiny newborn we welcomed into the fellowship with prayers, blessing, and anointing, for a granddaughter's beautiful song of worship, a pastor and my two sons who good-naturedly took a pie to the face for a good cause, and another granddaughter who graduated from the Footsteps weekend along with two dozen others who stood unashamedly for Christ. Tonight, I sit in comfort, peace, and warmth, remembering a day filled with manifold blessings; and all made possible by the unnumbered sacrifices of so many through the years. My ability to recognize and reflect on all this is due in turn, to the sacrifice of Christ for our behalf, and to the wondrous grace of God that opened my eyes, enabling me to believe and receive it all. Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gift!

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