There was a time when I was a little girl when we actually celebrated the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington on their real birthdays, instead of being mashed together on a convenient Monday sometime in the middle of February. It was supposed to be a time of remembrance for their lives and the vital role they contributed to our country, not just a day off.
So today, in light of Abraham Lincoln's 212th birthday, I am posting the conclusion of his second inaugural address, given just a month before his assassination in 1865. Keep in mind that the Civil War started one month into his presidency and concluded five days before he died. These words are engraved in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. They reflect his character. They reflect our timely need as a country for reconciliation and healing.
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
He did his best with what was before him. As we should do the same in whatever our struggle.
Seek peace
and pursue it.
Psalm 34. 14
And also reflecting his character, he said once about his portrait: "There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes."
No comments:
Post a Comment