Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX

An anonymous e-mail tells a story we need to hear on this Memorial Day weekend. It’s about an old man and his wife sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket. The hood is up on their car. Evidently they are having engine problems.

A young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walks in the direction of the elderly couple. The old gentleman emerges from the car and takes a few steps in the young man’s direction. He points to the open hood and asks the young man for assistance. The young man puts his grocery bag into his expensive SUV, turns back to the old man and yells at him: “You shouldn’t even be allowed to drive a car at your age.” And then with a wave of his hand, he gets into his car and speeds out of the parking lot. The old gentleman pulls out his handkerchief, mops his brow and goes back to his car. Again he looks at the engine. He then goes to his wife and appears to reassure her that things will be okay.

A stranger approaches the old man. “Looks like you’re having a problem,” he says. The old man smiles sheepishly, and quietly nods his head. The stranger looks under the hood of the car, but he has no more expertise with automobile engines than the old man. He assures the elderly gentleman he will return and heads to a nearby service station. He explains the situation to a mechanic and says he will pay him if he would help the elderly couple with their car.

Returning with the mechanic, the stranger gets into a conversation with the old gentleman. The stranger is wearing a ring signifying that he had been a Marine. Coincidentally, so had the old man. He confides that he had served in some of the harshest battles in our nation’s history, including Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He had retired from the Marine Corps after the war.

After the car was repaired and running, the old gentleman handed a card to the stranger and they shook hands and parted. A little while later the stranger happened to look at the card. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: Congressional Medal of Honor Society. It was only then that the former Marine realized that he had come to the aid of one of America’s heroes.

Just a reminder this Memorial Day weekend that there are men and women who have served their country, and received very little in return. It is only right that we recognize their sacrifice and honor their memory this holiday weekend.

Have a blessed holiday weekend and remember to lift up the Veterans Administration. They do a lot of good for so many of our veterans. Pray that they will truly get to the root of their problems and are able to focus on their mission once again.

Pastor Randy