“What they gave us is beyond our powers to repay.”

It’s Memorial Day 2021… so what are you thinking about today? Maybe you’re excited to be hosting your first backyard cookout in a over a year. Maybe you’re relaxing on the beach, visiting a National Park, flying out to be with family or spending a quiet day by the backyard pool. Whatever our journey’s-end this Memorial Day weekend, I’m sure we’re all feeling the same- thankful that quarantine is over, relieved that we have the freedom to party, to travel and to do as we please.

This sensation of gratefulness for our freedom is a surprising feeling for most of us. It should not be.

Just the relatively minimal curtailment of independence we’ve experienced over the past year or so, has made us recognize the value of the independence that we very often take for granted. We should be expressing our appreciation for our freedom, not just today, but every day.

Former President Ronald Regan had a talent for eloquently voicing the value and the cost of freedom, the significance of the price our military members, our veterans and their families pay for that privilege. His acclaimed Memorial Day speeches are both honest and heartfelt. The quote in the title of this blog is from one such tribute. I don’t believe anyone has ever said it better, and so I leave you with this:

… please take just two minutes out of this free and unrestricted Memorial Day weekend to listen.