Yesterday, I took the kids to an event billed as, “The Largest Civil-War Reenactment West of the Mississippi.”
I haven’t done the research necessary to verify that claim, but I’m going to go ahead and believe.
This place was amazing. There were hundreds of tents set up across the grounds, and hundreds upon hundreds of actors portraying men and women of the Blue and the Gray. They staged three battles for our benefit, as well as artillery and infantry demonstrations, period band concerts, and a living museum of camp life and culture. There was even a fife and drum corps, composed primarily of teens and younger, as it would have been in the 1860s.
It was loud.
It was smelly.
It was exquisitely cool.
Every effort was made to maintain authenticity. Apart from the rare exception, such as a few pretty girls masquerading as drummer boys, Lincoln needing a cue halfway through his Gettysburg Address, and the “dead” Rebel soldier taking a selfie on the battlefield, I’d say that they were extremely successful.
My favorite part of the day was the Q&A session with Abraham Lincoln, Jeff Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and George Pickett. These men looked the part, acted the part, and showed enough insight and depth of knowledge to fool the history geeks who were willing to drive hours out into the wilderness to see this in the first place. Hearing Jefferson Davis expound upon the institution of slavery and the South’s constitutional right to secede was intriguing and a little brain-cramping.
OK Michael, do you have a point, or are you just trying to show off the fun you had on Saturday while I was home pulling weeds and brushing the dog’s teeth?
I do have a point, oh Patient Reader. Here it comes…
The men and women at this event are more than reenactors. They are rememberers, preservers. They are working to give us an accurate picture of our past, with all the complexity and controversy intact. They want us to remember where we have come from, perhaps to help shape where we are going.
Such an attitude is reflected throughout Scripture. How many times, in how many places, did God instruct his people to raise a marker, institute a feast, preserve a holy day, for the purposes of remembering?
Lots.
Whether it’s Jacob setting up a stone pillar at Bethel, God commanding the Passover Feast, or Jesus telling his disciples to, “Do this in remembrance of me,” remembering is part of the fabric of the people of God.
So, do you?
Remember, that is.
Oh, I’m sure you have pictures and video of birthdays and special vacations. If you’re like my family, you probably have random photos of trees that have no reference point in your memory. But do you remember? Do you stop to commemorate?
No, I’m not thinking you should hire performers to do an annual reenactment of the loss of your child’s first tooth—not that I wouldn’t enjoy seeing that.
Look, Thanksgiving is around the corner. No, not Christmas—no matter what the department stores say, the next holy day is Thanksgiving. As you prepare the food, as you prepare the table, as you prepare to drive to Great Aunt Wanda’s house to celebrate, may I suggest another preparation?
Your heart.
Remind yourself of the things you have to be thankful for. Remember the ways God has blessed you, protected you, helped you endure this past year. Build a stone monument in your yard—
Well, maybe not that.
Build an attitude of remembrance in your heart for all that you have.
Because you have a lot.