A Tribute to Our Grandparents - Thanksgiving 2009

In These Days
11/27/09 - MCC

Slowly they leave us these heroes of ours.
They go to their fathers, as someday we will join them.
They gave us our lives; they gave us our freedoms, oft showed us our life-work as well.

Yet now they are falling, these giants among men and women
They succumb not to the pressures and toils that buffeted their lives, but rather to the sin and death that works in all.
But they left something to us, a country, a faith, a business, a family.

They go unbowed, though nature has bent them.
They go in strength, though their bodies now fail them.
They go in wisdom, though their minds may wander.
In these days, may their final lessons be taught to our hearts.

In these days, may we learn their perseverance.
May we learn the love of God which carried the Gospel to those who had never heard.
May we learn the courageous integrity which fought on Iwo Jima or in Korea.
May we follow the example of those who labored to build and sustain their families and give them the best that they could.
May we know the same tender care for our families that has been given us. 
May we be strong and pass on the legacy which we received, not because it was perfect, but because it is God-honoring.
May we be able to tell our children and grandchildren of the works of God in the lives of our families... those whom God used in wondrous ways around the world, those who labored, quietly faithful in their churches, and those whom God brought near to Himself after many decades of resistance.

In these days, let us honor our heroes: common men and women of God, of faith, of courage, of endurance, of love. Flaws there are in each life, but each has much to teach those who would learn.