Maybe it’s because tomorrow is Memorial Day that a word keeps recurring in my mind this morning: nobility. A dictionary definition of nobility is having high moral standards or ideals or royalty. My own definition of nobility is people who have high moral standards and bedrock beliefs in truth and the courage to stand firm for those beliefs. Nobility doesn’t come because of wealth or title; true aristocracy is a nobility of the soul, not of birth.
The Fox news channel begins each day of programming with “The Star Spangled Banner” and in the background, our flag is flying in a stiff breeze. To me, that flag stands for freedom, patriots who shed their blood to protect that freedom, American soldiers, sailors, airmen who have stood and now stand between us and dictatorship, and for those who stand behind our protectors, praying, hoping, believing.
Memorial Day began as a result of the Civil War, an unbelievable time of Americans taking up arms against Americans. Its purpose was to honor those who fought and died for their firmly-held beliefs, both the North and the South. Their sacrifice cannot be overstated. This morning, though, I think about those who did not fight with guns and bayonets but who stayed home praying, doing without even necessities, believing, and whose hearts were torn when their soldiers did not come home.
This morning, I salute the noble ones, the ones who fought, bled and died for freedom, and the wives, mothers, children who stayed behind, facing each day with prayer and faith, and determination. When I see Old Glory flying or hear The Star Spangled Banner. I think of one nation, bound together in our belief in individual freedom, in the dignity of each person, and the worth of every human life. I am grateful to God who instilled in our hearts a love for Him and a love of our country and the courage to stand firm on what we know is right.
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