Posted on 11/10/2005 5:12:04 PM PST by naturalman1975
Life with its change of mood and shade
I want to live. I'm not afraid
But me and mine are hard to part
Oh, unknown God, lift up my heart
You stilled the waters at Dunkirk
And saved Your Servants. All Your work
Is wonderful, dear God. You strode
Before us down that dreadful road
We were alone and hope had fled
We loved our country and our dead
And could not shame them so we stayed
The course and were not much afraid
Dear God that nightmare road! And then
That sea! We got there - we were men
My eyes were blind, my feet were torn
My soul sang like a bird at dawn!
I know that death is but a door
I know what we are fighting for
Peace for the kids. Our brothers freed
A kinder world. A cleaner breed
I'm but the son my mother bore
A simple man and nothing more
But God of strength and gentleness
Be pleased to make me nothing less
Help me O God, when Death is near
To mock the haggard face of fear
That when I fall - if fall I must -
My soul may triumph in the dust.
I thought I would share this prayer. I do not know its origins, though it seems to date from World War II by its reference to Dunkirk. All I know is that my father carried it with him during his war service, and I hope that it was of help to him when he fell.
Later I carried it with me in the Gulf, and I know that it was a comfort to me then.
Thank you so much for posting. God bless you.
I'll be wearing my poppy tomorrow (It's 1715 on 10 November here).
God bless your father's soul in Heaven. Thank you both for your service.
Thanks. I'll add something to the thread.
"As I prayed there alone, a great peace kind of come into my soul and a great calm come over me, and I received my assurance. He heard my prayer and He come to me on the mountainside. I didn't hear Him, of course, but he was there just the same. I knowed he was there. he understood that I didn't want to be a fighter or a killing man, that I didn't want to go to war to hurt nobody nohow. And yet I wanted to do what my country wanted me to do. I wanted to serve God and my country too. He understood all of this. He seen right inside me, and He knowed I had been troubled and worried, not because I was afraid, but because I put Him first, even before my country, and I only wanted to do what would please Him.
So He took pity on me and He gave me the assurance I needed. I didn't understand everything. I didn't understand how he could let me go to war and even kill and yet not hold it against me. I didn't even want to understand. It was His will and that was enough for me. So at last I begun to see the light. I begun to understand that no matter what a man is forced to do, so long as he is right in his own soul he remains a righteous man. I knowed I would go to war. I knowed I would be protected from all harm, and that so long as I believed in Him He would not allow even a hair on my head to be harmed."
"As he went about his duties, York continued his musings over a Chrisitan soldier's position as both a defender of the faith and killer of his fellowman. He was no longer worried about his own safety on the battlefield or about his soul. But what a Christian soldier should worry about, the private wrote in his diary, was all the men who 'passed out into the Deep of an unknown world and has left no testimony as to the welfare of their souls.' 'There is no use of worrying a bout Shells," the diary entry went on, 'for you cant keep them from busting in your trench nor you cant Stop the rain or prevent a light from going up jes as you are half way over the parapet--So what is the use of worrying if you can't alter things just ask God to help you and accept them and make the best of them by the help of God; yet some men do worry, and By Doing So they effectually destroy their peace of Mind without doing any one any good.'"
York once remarked, "In the war the hand of God was with us. It is impossible for anyone to go through with what we did and come out without the hand of God. We didn't want money; we didn't want land; we didn't want to lose our boys over there. But we had to go into it to give our boys and young ladies a chance for peace in the days to come. Those boys who fell have done a great deed and a deed that will never be forgotten by America. Thank you."
When 'neath the rumble of the guns,
I lead my men against the foe,
I am alone, and weak, and scared.
And wonder how I ever dared
Accept the task of leading them.
I wonder, worry, and then pray
Oh God, who takes men's pain away,
Now, in my spirit's fight with fear
Draw near, dear God, draw near, draw near.
Make me more willing to obey,
Help me to merit my command.
And if this be the fateful day
Reach out, oh God, Thy helping hand...
These men of mine must never know
How much afraid I really am.
Help me to stand against the foe,
So they will say: "He was a man."
Thanks for your service and your father's service to the world.
A prayer for my veteran father at his funeral & for all who served our country:
I Am Free
Do not grieve for me, for now I am free,
I am following the path God laid for me,
I took his hand when I heard him call,
I turned my back, and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play,
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I found that peace at the end of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with our memories of joy,
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Oh yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
My life has been full; I have savored much,
Good Friends, good times, a loved one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Do not lengthen it now with undue grief,
Lift up your hearts and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.
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I have a website set up about my veteran father's life. PM me for the website addie.
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