Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.
Occasionally a small, innovative act can grip the imagination and become something far greater than anything originally planned. Memorial Day is an example of that.
After the Civil War, women in a Sunday School Class in a southern town adopted a spring project. They decided to decorate the graves of their sons, husbands and sweethearts who had died in battle and who were buried in the local cemetery.!
Upon arriving at the cemetery, they expanded their plans and decorated the graves of soldiers from the north, as well.
It was a step toward reconciliation.
When the project was reported in newspapers, the Class began getting letters from people in the north, thanking them for decorating the graves of their loved ones.
Soon the practice spread. The name has changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, but it is still an important time when we stop to honor all who have died in war.
When the women looked into the darkness, into the pain, of their souls they overcame reasons which might have made them bitter. Instead they found forgiveness which made them strong.
Have all your experiences been in vain?
"Where there is hatred, let us sow love, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light."
And make us instruments of peace!
Richard
Top of the morning from Vinita, Oklahoma, where the 125 year old Pilgrim Presbyterian Church still stands on the corner of Thompson and Illinois Streets. If you are in the area, and have no church home, come visit us at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. And, if you live too far away to join us for worship, please remember us in your prayers.
If you read your Bible - and I hope you do - you'll know it isn't always a peaceful book filled with serenity, green pastures and love. It also reflects human pain and conflict, disappointments and passions.
One conflict in life is envy, and no one is completely free of it. A good antidote to envy is to ask how happy is the person who possesses the object of your envy.
Then, draw up a list of your blessings and imagine one of them being threatened. I expect you'll realize then how rich you truly are.
Focus your attention on what is yours, and live! Live to the hilt, in peace.
Richard
Greetings from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.
My MONDAY MORNING message begins with a question:
Are your beliefs reflected in your behavior?
About 90% of the American people say they believe in God, according to a recent survey. In the same survey, the majority said that their religious beliefs had no impact on their daily conduct!
For too many, religion - while it remains respectable - has become almost totally irrelevant.
We are split personalities! We swear allegiance to one set of principles and live by another. When an abyss widens between values we praise the values which operate in our life, we're in a slippery slope.
Top of the morning, each day - and may the wind always be at your back.
Richard
