Freedom Isn't Free

This being Memorial Day weekend, we take time in reflection of the many men and women who have served our country. We remember their service, and we remember those who gave it all, their very lives for the freedoms that we enjoy as Americans.
As parents, we do think it’s important to teach our children about this important holiday. Sometimes, my kids can get overwhelmed by the world’s injustice, and these exact holidays, like Memorial Day, highlight the many heroes of our country…those willing to serve The United States and yes, even die for their country. There are people in the world who sacrifice for a greater good. There are men and women who believe in something greater than themselves, and are willing to put it all on the line to live that noble belief to its fullest.

In our kind of culture, in our kind of secular society, these men and women looked beyond self-serving interests, and shrugged off the culture of our instant gratification lifestyle, and poured themselves out. They left family behind. They said good-bye to their wife, or husband. They kissed good-bye to their little ones. They forsake comforts and luxuries. They put themselves in harm’s way. They abandoned selfish ways, and adopted a life of service for our nation. Indeed, a life of service for each American to keep enjoying the many freedoms we are blessed with.

These men and women fought for freedom. And so many still do.

As of late, there has been such buzz about our religious freedoms being compromised in the HHS mandate, of President Obama’s health care reform. On the line, is our Constitutional right to live and practice our Faith.

How many men and women that we will honor this Memorial Day, fought for this freedom that is now being compromised? How many people died in the service of our great country, to protect this exact freedom?

The US Council of Catholic Bishops is formulating a strategy, and you can visit all the activities around the country on their website, usccb.org. It occurred to me, these bishops, and our very priests, are moving, and needing foot soldiers. They need us.

As a Mom of five, I’ll be honest. Between packing lunches, mountains of laundry, junk mail sifting and daily dinner creations, I am spent. I am exhausted, and yet every Mom will tell you, there are about five hundred other things we somehow manage to fit in every day, in between the regular schedule. Aren’t I doing my duty? If every soldier that ever served our country said, “Well, I cooked the meal, washed my uniform and organized my paperwork, my duty is done.”….Well, I am afraid of what our country would have turned out to be.

Over this weekend, as we contemplate the many who fought for our freedoms, let us also contemplate how God just might be calling one of us. Maybe not to wear the uniform, or pull the trigger, as others have had to. But perhaps God is calling us to another kind of battle, one involving intense prayer, or perhaps even more.

Is it time to put word to deed? My children, indeed all children, need heroes, someone to admire. Do we expect our freedoms to be protected because someone else wears the uniform? They need to see and believe that the world is good, our country is good, and worth fighting for. In what ways we do that, is up to us. Do we attend a Stand Up For Freedom rally? Do we somehow observe the upcoming Fortnight For Freedom (June 21-July 4). Do we get involved?

Just like you, I prayerfully consider which ways God expects me to put on the armor. I sincerely believe God wants a country that allows us to practice our Faith, freely. I absolutely want and need my children to live in a country that will protect religious freedom.

I am Catholic. I raise my children in the Catholic Faith. What will our country look like, if following our Catholic Faith, means we break the law. Now is the time. Now, we must stand up. This isn’t the time for excuses. It is the time to believe we can make a difference. It’s our time to be our children’s heroes. Let them point to us, now, see us living and moving and breathing as the heroes of the past….giving up our luxuries, our comforts for a greater purpose, something larger than ourselves:

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Freedom isn’t free.

Lord, bless our great nation. As we see our culture changing, our government intruding on the practice of faith, help us Mothers, to not be afraid of what our future might look like. Help us to see what things we can do, with-in our sphere of influence. Bless our efforts, Lord, however meager. You know our daily life, our ins and outs, our commitments, our struggles. Help us to see a wider vision. Mold us into our kid’s hero, so we can inspire them, and show just what is possible when we’ve got You on our side.

Photo Credit: Kenn W. Kiser, Morguefile