As I have said I won't do previous poems too often but today being Memorial Day I thought it seemed fitting.
Lord Bless
Lord Bless the memories
of those who have given their lives in service to our country
Lord Bless the soldier
at their post, where ever that may be
Lord Bless the families
who are left behind to continue on with their lives
Lord bless the ones
who carry the scars as a reminder of their sacrifice
Lord Bless those
who have been and are prisoners to an enemy
Lord Bless the children
who hold a picture of the man they call their Daddy
Lord bless the wives
who sleep alone,
Lord Bless the parents
who wait at home
Lord Bless them,
the men and women
who have dedicated their lives
to protecting what we know as our country,
our freedom, our home;
the United States of America
Tracey J. Thompson
©5/27/06
"Lord Bless those who have given their lives"......I wanted something a bit more concrete to pray for...so I looked up some statistics starting with the Civil War... (Decoration Day was instituted in 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic to decorate the graves of Union soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War. Eventually the two competing decoration holidays, Union and Confederate, merged into one and included the honoring of all Americans who had died while in military service. The term Memorial Day was first used in 1882, but was not declared the official name until 1967. At this point Memorial Day was May 30th...until the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 was passed and Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday of May, which took effect at the federal level in 1971)
NOW that the history lesson is over! On with my thoughts
American military lives lost;
Civil War: 750,000
World War I: 116,516
World War II: 405,399
Korean War: 54,246
Vietnam: 58,204
Afghanistan War: 2,356
Iraq War: 4,497
The list of conflicts and wars is much larger, but I looked at the ones we are most familiar with.
That is a HUGE amount of casualties....add in the families and people that are also affected by this...not to mention those wounded.
LORD BLESS.....
We, as those who live in the country that these people fought for and defended, must remember in prayer all those affected, and for those who continue to serve knowing what the out come could be.
Whether we agree with any of these wars and conflicts....we can still commit to pray.
In Sunday school yesterday our lesson was on Peace. Praying for Peace. I thought how fitting for Memorial Day weekend...we pray for peace....because with peace comes the end of conflict and with that the end of war. We pray for the peace that Christ brings. I also pray for peace for those amid the conflict, that Christ can give them inner peace as they live and battle in not so peaceful nations.
On Memorial Day we remember. There are pictures posted on social media of men and women in uniform who have served our country, cemeteries are decorated with wreaths and flowers and flags, parades with those in service now, and those who have been, wind the streets of many towns across the country. Remembering names and stories and even statistics is our way of preserving the past, of making sure generations do not forget the sacrifice and loss that was done, in essence for them, and for those generations to come.
There are many instances in the bible (more than 300 times in the Old Testament) where God commanded a memorial be built so they would not forget what He had done for them. Or people built and altar to honor and memorialize what God had done. Noah built an altar in gratitude and honor that God saved him and his family and the animals from destruction.
Abraham
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7
Isaac
Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. Genesis 26:25
Jacob
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. Genesis 35:1
Moses
Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. Exodus 17:15
...and this list goes on.
Abraham
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Genesis 12:7
Isaac
Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. Genesis 26:25
Jacob
Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. Genesis 35:1
Moses
Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. Exodus 17:15
...and this list goes on.
Every day, as a Christian, should be a memorial day, should it not? We come before the Lord humbly, on our knees, grateful for what He has done for us...the sacrifice and the loss suffered for us. Our lives should be that memorial....how we live and the choices we make should honor the One who allows us to live with His presence here and the assurance of eternity when we leave this earth.
LORD BLESS......
I am ending today's with a short video that my daughter Marah put together last year for the National Day of prayer, but I believe it is fitting for today as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment