Standing in the presence of greatness, Standing in the presence of evil

I've been in Washington D.C. for a day or two, as a very quick, very needed mini-vacation. Both my parents and my husband have been before, and everything I marveled at, they had probably already seen. But, I walked on--many miles--in amazement of the things I've seen
Our first stop of the trip was at Arlington Cemetery. I knew it would be a powerful experience, but I was caught off guard by how I felt seeing so many crosses. Row after row, in any direction you looked, for what seemed like miles. So many people who willingly offered up their very lives to be of service to their country. So many people who made a tough choice, and overlooked the possible consequences, and did what they believed was right. In keeping with my week's theme of prayer and meditation, I did "flash" prayers those who had served. Every time I walked past a grave, I thanked God for that person's service. You can imagine with all those graves that I was walking past that my conversation with God was pretty long. And yet, I felt was it was like to be in a constant state of prayer, even while I was engaged in other things. Once I got into a rhythm it was much easier than I thought to go right back to where I left off.
Later in the day, we went to the Holocaust museum. Again I knew this would be a very powerful experience, and again was unprepared for just how moving it would be. As I walked through, and saw, really saw all the destruction, I was overcome. Standing there and looking at the billions of pairs of shoes and the personal items like hairbrushes of the victims... wow. And then I walked through an area where they had walls of artwork from children of the Holocaust. Again, wow. And then my dad reminded me of what I had forgotten, the Hebrew word for "Holocaust" means "Burnt offering." How are there even words to reconcile that?
Again, I tried to remain in a constant state of prayer and put these things before God. And as I offered up my feelings to God, I was surprised to find myself angrier and angrier. (I guess I imagined myself being more and more peaceful with all this praying I was doing...hmmm!) But, I prayed for all those whose lives had been lost, and for all those who worked to make a difference. And I prayed for all the ways that we still find to hurt each other, and prayed for the courage to work for true peace.
I think it's funny that my themes for this week were Prayer and Meditation. God has a funny way of putting things right in your way at just the right time. For sure, what a place to be pondering those topics.