For The Beauty of the Earth

Near the end of November, Jena had picked the hymn for devotional "For the Beauty of the Earth."  She picks the hymns a month in advance and it certainly is a popular hymn to sing in November. However, sitting in devotional with these sweet missionaries singing that hymn just a few weeks after singing the same hymn at Allan's funeral touched my heart and made me cry.

The words--

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

1. [Chorus]Lord of all, to thee we raise

   This our hymn of grateful praise.

2. 2. For the beauty of each hour

   Of the day and of the night,

   Hill and vale, and tree and flow’r,

   Sun and moon, and stars of light,

3. 3. For the joy of human love,

   Brother, sister, parent, child,

   Friends on earth, and friends above,

   For all gentle thoughts and mild,

I know the world is not a great place for millions and millions of people who deal with hunger, war, displacement, illness, crime, and the long list of evils everywhere.  I know that we have been so richly blessed in so many ways--way beyond what we "deserve"--we have loving families, we have safety, we have health, we have resources, and we have been blessed to see some of the great amazing beauties of this world.  May I always be found praising God and doing my part to make the world a bit better for those around me!