Drawing a Line in the Sand.

How do YOU define Courage? The Dictionary defines it as : the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. Several quotes come to mind when I think of these words. John Wayne said “courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” And in John 15:13 says “No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.”

On June 6, 1944 a group of men just out of high school and college defined a Generation and set into action events that would ultimately redefine Courage and Bravery. In a span of not more that 200 yards over 130,000 men fought their way through a hell fire of bullets, mines, and artillery shells. They landed on the beaches of Normandy, and jumped from airplanes into the French countryside. It’s hard to imagine and put into perspective these heroic actions today. If it wasn’t enough that these men had to endure one of, if not, the most dangerous scenarios in all of history, that day was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a march to Germany that would ultimately end in victory close to a year later. Not to mention most of these men had already endured heavy fighting for quite some time leading up to this invasion. This initial invasion and pure sacrifice would lead to many more troops coming to shore in the coming days to help save millions of lives. Most of these men were no older than our own sons and Daughters, not much older than your local high school football or lacrosse team. Yet they pulled together and convinced themselves that their life may not be the one to end the war, but if they could just free up time and safely secure the beach for the man behind them to make it that extra step (AT ANY COST) they were willing to lay down their own life for that!

          It will never cease to amaze me the Courage and sacrifice these men made for my freedom and yours. Days like today help put into perspective the things I should be thankful for but I tend to lose sight of sometimes. I try to use these men’s legacy in my life to remind me that although I am not faced with a situation like that, and it is beyond my control that these things have transpired; that I can find situations in my own life that require me to be brave and courageous. We are all faced with situations that require us and also allow us to step up and be strong. We must not let these men’s sacrifice for our freedom go in vain, yet we should use it as inspiration in our own life’s to keep things in perspective. These men fought and died because they wanted us to enjoy our freedom and make the most of it. We should be courageous in our own life and not let the memory of these men fade away and become useless facts in history books, we should be thankful and celebrate their bravery and heroic actions.

"so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11