I love America! I am passionate about my country, about what our flag stands for, about the history that created this most special place. I literally weep when I think about my ancestors who left beautiful places that they loved in England and Wales to come here, to participate in Zion and leave behind all they held dear, hoping, wishing, praying for something better, but not knowing for sure.
With all due respect to Anna, (I love your country) there are so many reasons that America is special: we have some of the most incredible scenery on earth; we have the greatest system of government devised by God, not man; we have opportunities not available to so many in other countries, most notably our special kinds of freedom.
But there is one other thing that makes America so special to me: I cannot separate America from the gospel. They are bound together by God himself, as he protected this country from being settled until he was ready for special groups of people to come here, fleeing religious persecution, and establish an atmosphere of government that would nurture the gospel when it was restored.
I haven't done a lot of traveling: England, Wales, Armenia, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Italy, Greece, Germany, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, but each time I return home, my testimony is strengthened, my conviction deepened, that I am privileged, most incredibly blessed to have been born at this time, in this dispensation, in this place, into a home where the gospel was available. What greater blessing could God bestow upon me that this!
As I celebrate this Independence Day, I'll remember Francis Scott Key as he waited, enduring the bombings of the fort, to see if they had surrendered to the incredible night-long barrage of cannon fire from the British ships. The description of those heroic men and boys who took up the flag to keep it waving over the fort through the night, surrendering their lives to the cannons rather than surrendering their flag to their enemy brings grateful tears to my eyes and an ache to my heart. I can't hear or sing the Star Spangled Banner without crying. Even as I write, I can't see the computer for the tears streaming down my face.
I'll remember George Washington's men at Valley Forge, suffering freezing temperatures and lack of food, clothing and ammunition, sacrificing comfort, home, families and lives for the chance of freedom. I'll think of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, knowing with that stroke of the pen they were very possibly signing their death warrants - which happened for many of them. Most lost everythingl But they gave us everything by their sacrifice.
I'll remember all our wonderful men and women willing to sacrifice their lives today to keep us free, and to bring a semblance of precious freedom to others in the world living under tyranny. I'm so grateful to them for their patriotism, their willingness to give their all, if necessary, for freedom. What a beautiful word! FREEDOM!
And I'll continue praying for our precious country which is today in jeopardy of being destroyed from within. God has always held my beloved America in his hands - I pray that He will continue to do so! Happy Independence Day!
2 comments:
Happy Independence Day, Lynn. This is a wonderful country---I, too, hope we can turn things around to preserve important freedoms.
Bravo, Lynn! What a moving post. I felt everyone of your sentiments. I weep like a baby when I see the flag pass by in a parade, or flying high over a government building. And you can imagine what I was like during the ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington.
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