Our family visited Washington D.C. last year for Spring Break. One of our first stops of the trip was to Arlington National Cemetery. I guess you could say I have a strange attraction to cemeteries in general. Each marker or tombstone has a name that represents a life and a story. I love to look at the dates of their lives and imagine what made them tick, what they loved to do for their hobbies, if they had children, and how they lived their lives. For those markers with only one date, like my dear cousin who died the day she was born, I wonder how the lives of the families were changed. There are so many unknowns about each marker that we will never know. 

Think of all the people who will one day look at your marker and wonder about you. When they wonder about your story, what information will they fill in about your life? They can imagine things about your life, but you are simply an unknown soldier to them. They do not know you personally, you are simply a name on a stone. Yet, just like this unknown soldier from World War I, we fight a battle everyday in this spiritual world. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

Do you ever feel alone? Feel no one notices you? You work hard and there is no reward? Even the unknown soldier has a guard at all times and in all weather. Likewise, God guards us in our spiritual battles. You might be unknown to most of the world, but not to God. You are His beloved.

© 2014 Susan M. Sims

Please follow and like us: