Remembering

Proverbs 22:28: "Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers hath set."

I am remembering today. Memorial Day is around the corner. I am at the age where I love to reminisce.

The old war veterans that I had the privilege to know, I hold in high regard. Most of them were friends of my father in law.  Many were the war stories we heard when those old fellows gathered around. But more than I remember the stories, I remember the men. They were a gutsy, straightforward generation.  They had seen it all in war, came home and went to work, determined to experience the freedom they had fought for. Some were Germans who had seen the horrors of war in a different perspective.  No matter what background, they were outspoken in what they stood for. No one had a doubt about where their loyalties were.

These men may have erred on the side of even being  stubborn. They established their boundaries and rights and refused to be moved. I didn't try to change them. I didn't want to. I learned so much from them.  Experience had taught them to fight for what they believed was right. 

These men believed in working hard. Though many of them suffered emotional and spiritual trauma from the war, they struggled through it and made some strong commitments to God. They were loyal and established, supportive of the important things in life: God, family, jobs, community, and government.  How I admired their strength and character!  They were largely uneducated,  but wise in experience. They were a challenging, stalwart, unmoveable group of men! I miss them!

Who am I to question those choices or move those cornerstones they established?  Those boundaries have worked for me .Their courage and strength have created a safe world for many years for me.

What does worry me is the movement in this generation to remove those old landmarks.  I am not opposed to change,  as long as that change uses past lessons learned, and incorporates them into the present. It isn't going to work to remove the old cornerstones and have no boundaries for the future generation.

I, for one, am protecting those precious things I've been taught. I have taught them to my children.  I believe in discipline, hard work,  commitment,  quality,  strength, and high moral values.  I believe these qualities originated in the Word of God.  And, thank God, that Landmark can never be removed!