Silence

by Donald L. Reavis

In mid-April, knowing I had an upcoming blog date, I sat down and hammered out what I thought was an acceptable blurb. Proud of myself for getting it out of my backpack early, I opened the email to submit my humor-filled micro-story, only to discover the publish date was Memorial Day.

My shoulders dropped as the weight of it settled in my chest.

Not a day for humor. Not a day for BBQs or cornhole tournaments either, though plenty of folks will be doing those things, including yours truly.

Memorial Day should carry a kind of silence. Not the silence of an empty cabin or a quiet mountain trail, but the kind of silence that settles over a cemetery when a gentle breeze barely moves the flags. The kind of silence that makes us lower our voices as we read the names carved into stone. A silence filled with memories. A silence filled with stories never told.

As authors, we spend much of our time telling stories. We create protagonist and antagonist. Our imaginations weave tales of courage and loss. We wrap our arms around a character’s failures as they search for redemption. Our fingers move across the keyboard, sharing the hope that keeps men and women holding on during times of struggle. 

As a youngster, I had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery. I remember looking out across the sea of white crosses, not understanding their significance. They were just there.

More recently, on an overcast, rainy day, my wife and I walked among the almost ten thousand young men buried at Normandy. Our hearts felt as heavy as the sky above us, and in whispered voices we tried to comprehend the pain once felt in homes across the ocean.

Later, we stood on a bluff facing the cold September wind coming off the English Channel. I found myself wondering what it must have been like that summer morning as nearly seven thousand ships and landing craft approached the shore. More than 150,000 soldiers, knowing the danger before them, stormed the beaches.

It was a glorious and devastating day.

Now, as that generation rapidly disappears from among us, let us not forget those great warriors, or any who have given their lives for our freedom throughout every generation.

The story is that Decoration Day was the precursor to Memorial Day. History tells us that only three years after the Civil War, children carried flowers through Arlington National Cemetery. At that time, the nation was still deeply wounded. The divide between Americans was raw and bitter. Yet flowers were placed on the graves anyway.

As a Christian fiction author, I often find myself thinking about reconciliation. It is one of the great themes woven throughout Scripture, and one that naturally found its way into the Charlotte Lake series. A community learning to trust again. Individuals carrying guilt and grief. Souls searching for peace on the other side of suffering.

Memorial Day should remind us that, by the grace of God, our nation has survived difficult times. We survived a Civil War that nearly tore us apart. We survived world wars, national tragedies, the Great Depression, pandemics, civil unrest, droughts, and floods. Through it all, God used brave men and women who believed the country was worth preserving.

That sacrifice should humble us.

As authors, we have influence, whether we realize it or not. How often has a reader shared how your words affected them? Our stories, though fiction, can still shape hearts. Perhaps part of our calling is to remind people that grace and courage still exist. That redemption is still possible.

And as families gather today for cookouts and long weekends, may we pause long enough to remember the silence of those white stone crosses spread across our country and beyond. The folded flags displayed on shelves. The empty chairs at family tables. The stories that ended too soon.

I pray that God fills you with words of faith, hope and love.

And the greatest of these is love.

Donald L. Reavis is a retired air traffic controller whose love for backpacking inspired the Charlotte Lake series. He lives in Indiana, enjoys golf, painting, and experiencing new things with Sharla, his wife of 44 years.