A Hymn for Thankful Remembrance

It's Memorial Day here in America and it's a good day for thankful remembrance.

On Saturday, I had the privilege to go with my husband and mom down to see my my 93-year old grandma in southern Iowa. She had dutifully prepared a large basket of artificial flowers and we visited three cemeteries and many gravesites, including my dad's who served in the U.S. Navy.

Rows and rows of American flags pointed our hearts to God's gift of political freedom we've enjoyed for centuries here in the USA.

My heart  is filled with thankfulness as I remember family members who have gone as well as those who have paid the ultimate price for our country.

Who are you remembering today? There's a good hymn for that. Bonus points — it doubles as a prayer for today, too.

America the Beautiful

Katherine Lee Bates, 1893

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain;
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
TIll all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.