7/04/2005 10:23:00 PM|||Joel VandenBrink|||happy freedom day...may we all realize how free we are, and how free we aren't.
i created a post yesterday, that was rather cynical and pessimistic...it has sence been erased. happy trails post...but my question i was trying to answer i still want answered.
what are we celebrating today?
please help me out
thanks
joel|||112054114022679930|||land of the free...7/06/2005 01:12:10 PM||||||What are we celebrating??? I actually wondered the same thing this past weekend. We have all heard the generic things, our independence, our freedom and that sort of thing, but this weekend I learned that there is more to celebrate as well.
Prior to this weekend I had been to plenty of parades for one thing or another, but this weekend I went to watch my Grandfather march with his Marine Platoon in honor of a gentlemen who gave his life so they could all live.
My Grandfather was in Korea and at one point under very heavy fire in a bunker, a grenade landed in the bunker in the middle of 20 some odd Marine's and before anyone else could react one soldier did the most unselfish thing any of them could do, he smothered the grenade with his body, giving his life so that his Platoon and more importantly his friends could live.
It was a very special day for me to be able to watch all of these men pay there respects to a fallen comrade. Later that same day we were enjoying the afternoon sun by the Lake and I just stepped back away from all the festivities and said a little prayer of thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ who, much like my Grandfathers friend, gave his life so that all of us could live.
What are we celebrating??? To me it is a celebration of life. I'd like to think that as we were all sitting by the lake that afternoon Jesus, My Grandfathers friend and all those loved ones who have gone on to a better place were smiling down from heaven at us as we enjoy this beautiful gift called life.7/06/2005 02:16:55 PM|||Anonymous|||Joel, read this. He makes sense. http://www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=BreakPoint_Commentaries1&CONTENTID=16249&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm