ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  2Chronicles 7:14

Patriotic songs will fill the hot, summer air,

The trumpet will proclaim “Taps”,

Words of praise for those who went before us,

Those who shed their blood,

Who put others before themselves,

We honor them for what we did not do,

They took our place,

Yet we reap the benefits of their sacrifice,

Like the Israelites, we have strayed from our God,

We’ve put our trust in things of this world,

Instead of clinging to the hope of our salvation,

We become cynical, hopeless, vane, stubborn, proud,

Instead of trusting in those we’ve chosen to lead us,

We blame, we admonish, we complain, we slander,

Still there is only One who can mend the passage of time,

The ugliness of political correctness,

The shame of the things in our past,

There is only One who can truly lead us,

Down the path of righteousness,

Through the valley of death,

To a heavenly realm which will never change,

There is only One who we can trust, praise and connect to,

Just as we are – in desperate need of a champion,

One who will fix us,

Cleanse us,

Shield us from harm,

Walk with us through life,

Support,

Conquer evil,

Fight for us,

He is our defender against the evil of this world,

We must return to His loving arms,

We must confess our wrongs to Him,

We must believe that He has taken all our sins away,

We must walk in his ways,

And share His love with others,

And He will heal our land.

Heal our land, oh Lord!