Decoration Day
We still call it Decoration Day here in Wild Wonderful. Many of us will visit a cemetery this weekend and pay our respects to those who have stood final muster and answered their last recall. I’ll visit my Father, WWII Navy Veteran Hudson Grey Pendry. Most of our youngsters don’t know about this special day and what it represents. Take the opportunity this weekend to forget politicians and their antics. Instead, take time to visit a cemetery and reserve some time in your mind and heart for people who truly deserve our thoughts. Take time to educate a youngster about Memorial Day. Tell them why we must remember the Men and Women who have sacrificed so that we can remain a free nation.
As you remember those who’ve served and sacrificed, take a moment and a knee and give thanks for those who are serving and sacrificing now.
Please have a safe Memorial Day Weekend.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong.
He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces. And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us Faith.
Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men.
And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God.
Amen.
May 26th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Our fallen heroes have shown that ‘greater love,’ the least we can do is remember them one day out of an entire year.
As we pay our respects to our fallen heroes, reach out to those that came home and simply say “Thank You.” I thank each and every one of my fellow Veterans, whether you served in war or not, for standing between our enemies and us.