Memorial Day Scripture and Prayer: Psalm 126
Precious Seeds--Precious Harvest
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Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Those that go forth weeping, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing their sheaves with them.
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In the south, Memorial Day began as Decoration Day--
A day to clean the graves and honor the dead.
This is a somber occasion, but not melancholy.
The devotion we show those who have fallen is a reflection of the reverence we show for life.
After the horrible carnage of the Civil War,
America faced the awful aftermath of grief.
A far greater power than the forges of war was unleashed on the land.
Mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, came to the graves--
Just as the women came to Jesus' tomb,
So these women came with power.
They anointed the graves with tears.
They honored the monuments with their memories.
They came bearing without cannon or musket.
They came bearing spring flowers of beauty.
They sowed seeds of love.
Those precious seeds took root and grew.
They are growing still today.
We are the living harvest of those seeds.
This year has been a time of captivity and tears.
The land of the free has been gloved, masked, and shuttered.
We all share sorrows and frustrations.
But the earth is still blooming.
Creation is still bearing signs of hope.
Today we pause to remember.
We offer sacred memories mixed with love and tears.
When you sow seeds of hope and love,
God guarantees the harvest of joy.
On this Memorial Day, pause to remember,
And trust God to bless the harvest.
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Prayer: Natalie Sleath
In the bulb there is a flower;
in the seed, an apple tree;
in cocoons, a hidden promise:
butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter
there's a spring that waits to be,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
There's a song in every silence,
seeking word and melody;
there's a dawn in every darkness
bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future;
what it holds, a mystery,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning;
in our time, infinity;
in our doubt there is believing;
in our life, eternity.
In our death, a resurrection;
at the last, a victory,
unrevealed until its season,
something God alone can see.