On July 1st 1863 the battle of Gettysburg began. This battle has been touted as the turning point for the Civil War and therefore the most important battle during that war. Many have even gone on to say one of the most important battles and victories of all time as it preserved the Union and made America a force for good in the world. Yesterday I was able to visit the site of the battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and although it has been 150 years since the battles occurred I still felt like I could hear the cries of the wounded and the thunder of the cannons exploding around me. It was as if this ground with their 'witness trees', as they are so aptly named, held on the pain and suffering that occurred here where more than 20,000 were left wounded or dying. You could feel these men urging you not to forget them...many of them remain the nameless faces in a crowd of lost lives. But as I stared at a wall of unknown faces I realized they have not been forgotten by our Heavenly Father and their lives, each individual life with their fears, their struggles, their ups and and their downs, were recorded in the annals of Heaven. I came across a quote that struck me to my core. It reads "Every name...is a lightning stroke to some heart, and breaks like thunder over some home, and falls a long black shadow upon some hearthstone." How easy we forget the masses and favor those chosen few who lead when the masses are making the same sacrifices oft times on a grander scale.
What also shocked me was to learn that this tactical battle that would change the world was not planned. As it happens neither side was ready or planning on making a stand at Gettysburg, yet it was here they met and after a small skirmish on the first day the battle ground was set. This struck me because as we look back with the power of hindsight and we see how important this battle was but when these men woke up the morning of July 1st they weren't planning to fight this all important battle. They didn't know they would be changing history forever. This may not seem like a thunderbolt moment but for me it was. I thought of my own life and those around me and realized that we may not always be aware when we wake up that on that very day the battle that will change our lives and those of generations to come will begin. I'm not talking of a physical battle rather I'm talking of the silent battles each of us must face, the battle to chose the right and return to our Heavenly Father. Often times we are very aware of our own battles as we fight with difficulties in our lives from heartache to feelings of inadequacy but are we as kind to others who are fighting similar battles we can't see? I love the quote "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle". If anything I realized that we are all the masses in this GREAT and LAST BATTLE and each of us does matter. Each of us must continue to fight on a daily basis to win because again we don't know if this will be the day the battle that will change all will come. As I was preparing to leave Gettysburg I came across a quote from the Confederate General James Longstreet speaking about the Union General Ulysses S. Grant, he stated "That man will fight us every day and every hour till the end of this war." Wouldn't it be great if Satan and his followers were quoted as saying the same for us. That is my goal.
On July 1st 1863 the battle of Gettysburg began. This battle has been touted as the turning point for the Civil War and therefore the most important battle during that war. Many have even gone on to say one of the most important battles and victories of all time as it preserved the Union and made America a force for good in the world. Yesterday I was able to visit the site of the battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and although it has been 150 years since the battles occurred I still felt like I could hear the cries of the wounded and the thunder of the cannons exploding around me. It was as if this ground with their 'witness trees', as they are so aptly named, held on the pain and suffering that occurred here where more than 20,000 were left wounded or dying. You could feel these men urging you not to forget them...many of them remain the nameless faces in a crowd of lost lives. But as I stared at a wall of unknown faces I realized they have not been forgotten by our Heavenly Father and their lives, each individual life with their fears, their struggles, their ups and and their downs, were recorded in the annals of Heaven. I came across a quote that struck me to my core. It reads "Every name...is a lightning stroke to some heart, and breaks like thunder over some home, and falls a long black shadow upon some hearthstone." How easy we forget the masses and favor those chosen few who lead when the masses are making the same sacrifices oft times on a grander scale. 
What also shocked me was to learn that this tactical battle that would change the world was not planned. As it happens neither side was ready or planning on making a stand at Gettysburg, yet it was here they met and after a small skirmish on the first day the battle ground was set. This struck me because as we look back with the power of hindsight and we see how important this battle was but when these men woke up the morning of July 1st they weren't planning to fight this all important battle. They didn't know they would be changing history forever. This may not seem like a thunderbolt moment but for me it was. I thought of my own life and those around me and realized that we may not always be aware when we wake up that on that very day the battle that will change our lives and those of generations to come will begin. I'm not talking of a physical battle rather I'm talking of the silent battles each of us must face, the battle to chose the right and return to our Heavenly Father. Often times we are very aware of our own battles as we fight with difficulties in our lives from heartache to feelings of inadequacy but are we as kind to others who are fighting similar battles we can't see? I love the quote "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle". If anything I realized that we are all the masses in this GREAT and LAST BATTLE and each of us does matter. Each of us must continue to fight on a daily basis to win because again we don't know if this will be the day the battle that will change all will come. As I was preparing to leave Gettysburg I came across a quote from the Confederate General James Longstreet speaking about the Union General Ulysses S. Grant, he stated "That man will fight us every day and every hour till the end of this war." Wouldn't it be great if Satan and his followers were quoted as saying the same for us. That is my goal. 
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