A Great Sacrifice

April 3rd, 2007 |

I grew up in a small, quiet and somewhat quaint town 70 miles West of Knoxville, Tennessee on the beautiful Cumberland Plateau. My parents were simple folks who married young and worked hard to provide for me and my sister. Family vacations consisted of visiting relatives either in Alabama or West Virginia, so when my high school band director announced he was taking us to Atlanta, Georgia for a fun trip is was a very BIG DEAL. The highlight of the trip was a visit of Six Flags Over Georgia which would be the first amusement park I would ever visit. It certainly would not be the last, or for that matter the best ,but it will always hold the record for being the first. I also experience my first indoor mall while in Atlanta. As a high school Freshman I was trying to be cool about it, but I was blow away by all those stores under one roof. The trip to Atlanta became an annual thing that I was able to participate in during all four years at Cumberland County High School. However, my participation came at a price. Although the bulk of the trip was paid for through fund raisers, we were responsible for our food and of course those all important souvenirs. Every year my folks would hand me money for the trip that I now realize they really did not have to spare. They did not lecture me on how hard it was to come by, they gave it to a son whom they loved and wanted to experience a part of life that they never had. As I think about that today I am reminded of a far greater sacrifice that was made over 2,000 years ago that we might sit here today and enjoy a life full of wonder and joy that some only dream about. The Lord did not do it so He could lecture us on the value of His sacrifice, but rather He did it because He loves us. However, a little (or a lot) of gratitude on our part would be nice. I tried to say thank you to my folks every year by handing them back some of the money they gave me for the trip. I hope this day of all days you will pause and find a tangible way to say thank you for the sacrifice that has been made that you could experience a peace from heaven and a place like heaven.

Walking Memory Lane,