Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem
Dorchester High School For Girls had a dilemma. The graduation was supposed to take place on June 6th, 1941 in Boston's Beautiful and Historic Symphony Hall, but the news of D-Day had so captivated everybody that the Hall was still a total mess from the Boston Pops Concert the night before. Cafe tables and chairs filled the audience floor, along with the wine bottles, glasses, dirty dishes, and crumpled napkins everywhere. The graduation took place downtown at another historic building, Tremont Temple, and everybody was so distracted that it wasn't till weeks later that a major spelling error was noticed on the Diplomas.
Every generation has events that stand out as great dividing points in time for them. For my parents, it was the Attack on Pearl Harbor and D-Day. They counted time from "Before The War" to "After The War", and Pearl Harbor was the pivot point. It was so much ingrained into their speech patterns that the title of my first musical that I produced in High School was "After The War", which had nothing to do with WW2. Everybody of that generation knew EXACTLY where they were and what they were doing when they heard of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
For my generation, it was November 22, 1963. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, and for decades, it was the way I counted time. ("Oh, that was BEFORE 11/22/63" or "That was 10 years after 11/22/63" etc).
Now, of course we remember September 11th 2001 in the same way. I will bet everyone reading this can share EXACTLY where they were, what they were doing, and what they felt as they watched the ACT OF TERROR unfold.
Now, you may ask, what does this have to do with today's reading? Well, I will tell you.
On October 18th 1981, I gave my life to Jesus, and was given my very first Bible. It was an inexpensive soft-bound fake leather pew-sized New American Standard Bible that list priced at $7.95. I started reading The Gospel of John in my dining room which had blue denim vinyl wallpaper (so seventies!) and I remember that I happened to be facing East towards the Boston Skyline which was visible though my back windows, as I was on a high hill. I read and read and suddenly hit Chapter 17. I read it...stopped, read it again, and then read it a third time. Then I just froze. I sat there, frozen in awe and worship for a long time. It is a moment in time, that for me, will last forever.
Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.
"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance..” Psalm 33 NASB
God Bless America!
Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.
This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.
Hallelujah and Amen
ML/LTOS