Submitted by Robin Wiley
As I write this, Memorial Day holiday is just around the corner. It’s hard to believe how fast this year is flying by. Graduations are happening all over the place and summer is right around the corner. I appreciate the Memorial Day holiday, because of what we remember & honor: those who served, and gave their lives to our country’s military. We can never repay those men and women who sacrificed so much to keep us free. The tradition is at 3:00 pm on that special holiday – we are to stand and have a moment of silence to remember these fallen heroes.
This next Mysterious Ways article from Guideposts I would like to share has to do with Memorial Day and a Veteran’s most prized possession (second to their life of course!) – dog tags.
[Guideposts November 2020 Issue, by Paul Oxier, Follansbee, WVA]
A Memorial Day party – the perfect way to get to know my new neighbors. I’d recently moved to Follansbee, WVA. I’d already introduced myself to my next-door neighbors, an older couple named Sam and Liz. So when I saw the small gathering in their backyard, I went over and said hi.
Memorial Day always brought thoughts of family. Both my father and grandfather, Willard, had served in the military. Grandpa had fought in World War II. Dad had been in the Navy during Vietnam. Though it had been years since they passed, days like this always made me think of the sacrifices they’d made for their country. Every Memorial Day, I said a prayer of remembrance.
Liz took me around the party, introducing me. “This is my brother, Greg,” she said, indicating a man who looked to be in his sixities. “This is our new neighbor, Paul Oxier.”
“Oxier?” said Greg. “That’s an unusual name. Do you happen to know a Willard Oxier?”
I Blinked, surprised. “Yes, he was my grandfather,” I said.
Greg’s eyes lit up. “I think I have something for you. Can I stop by your house tomorrow?”
True to his word, Greg came by the next morning. “A few years ago, when I was living in Ohio,” he said, “I was digging in my flower bed. I found this.”
He handed me a small, square piece of metal, old and slightly rusted. On it were a series of numbers and a name: Willard J. Oxier. Grandpa. “I kept it, hoping I’d one day run into someone – either Willard or a member of his family – so I could return it,” he said.
I thanked Greg and called my uncle Kenny, Dad’s brother. He was as shocked as I was. But it made sense. Back in the 1950s, my dad and his family lived in Toronto, a little town in Ohio. Dad and Kenny and their other brother, Bob, would play soldier with their father’s old Army things, as kids do. “We were playing with his dog tag and lost it,” he said. Forever, I imagine they’d thought.
Somehow, all these years later, the dog tag had found its way from that flower bed in Toronto, OH, to a home in Follansbee, WVA. I offered to mail the tag to Uncle Kenny, but he told me to keep it to one day pass onto my own children.
RW: The world is really a very small place. Isn’t it?! When you consider the infinite space and time of who God is, these things pale compared to the LARGENESS of God. Unlike us, God has no limits or boundaries. He is not confined to the dimension of space. His love, holiness, mercy and all His other qualities are unlimited in their scope and expression. He weaves patterns of love and memories in our lives, which draw us nearer to each other and to Him. Have a great Tuesday!
Prayer for Today:
Father God, I pray this prayer for the impossible to you because your Word tells us to ask boldly (Hebrews 4:16) for anything because then we will see how great You are! There is nothing beyond Your power or might Oh Lord! Cast away my doubts and take away any fears. Let Your faithfulness alone shine inside me. By Your will and by Your way, may it be done. Let Your promise burn deep in my soul. May it nourish my confidence in Christ alone. In the name of Jesus, Amen.