Reminder to pray

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On the way home we passed a house that still has their Christmas lights up on the outside of their house.  Not only are they up, but they were actually turned on.  Christmas was exactly a month ago and by now most people have taken their decorations down, or at least stopped turning the lights on.  As Troy and I were talking about this I remembered something my mom once told me. 

I remember driving past a house well after Christmas and seeing their tree all lit up in the window.  After asking my mom why that family still had their tree up she offered the following response: maybe their dad was in the military and away from home and this family was waiting for their father to come home so they could celebrate Christmas with him. 

I will never know why that family left their tree up for so long, and I have no clue why the house we passed this evening still had their lights on, but every night as I pass that house I remember what my mom told me and I say a quick prayer for all those in the military who are away from their families right now. 

For many years now Christmas decorations being proudly displayed after the holiday have been a reminder to me of all the men and women who give up time with their families so that I can have time with mine. 

Do you have a random thing (like Christmas lights) in your life that remind you of something else that is completely unrelated?