Party if you wish, they'd want it that way. But, a moment of reflection is also a good thing.
To Absent Friends
- Thread starter warren
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Party if you wish, they'd want it that way. But, a moment of reflection is also a good thing.
Flew the flag at half mast from 9 to Noon; now at full-mast until sundown per regs. Prayers throughout the day for the fallen and their families whilst smoking in yard. No party this year.
Intermittent rain, so no flag on the porch today, but thoughts for those who've gone before, military and others. My wife grew up with this being called decoration day, and families would visit the cemeteries where their families were buried and clean up the graves and leave flowers. I participated in this holiday several years ago, and both of the family members who rode with my wife and I to three different cemeteries have since passed on, so particularly poignant.
My family is mostly buried in one of the largest cemeteries in Chicago where the multi-plot site was given to my great-great grandfather who was a prominent minister who gave the sermon at the dedication of the cemetery when it was a major site for the graves of Union soldiers during the Civil War.
My family is mostly buried in one of the largest cemeteries in Chicago where the multi-plot site was given to my great-great grandfather who was a prominent minister who gave the sermon at the dedication of the cemetery when it was a major site for the graves of Union soldiers during the Civil War.
Graceland? There's a great book available about that cemetary and those interred there.
The words to what is commonly referred to as the "Navy hymn" (actually "Eternal Father Strong to Save" by William Whiting - 1860) came to mind today, and I offer them here in honor of all who have served our country:
"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Your children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e'er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea."
Amen.
"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
"O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Your children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e'er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea."
Amen.
Praying for those that died in defense of our country is time well spent.