238th

As the alarm chirped this morning and I enjoyed this lovely bed, my mind drifted to all things American. I found myself thinking of young men and women, many whom were my students in days gone by, who have served in the US Military. Many still are. Many are just starting. Some are about to retire. (Wow, that makes me feel dated!) 

What a brave thing it is to enlist. Talk about a life of faith and not knowing where you might be going and what danger you might face. More than that - doing it for a cause - and for people who might not even agree about what freedom and liberty are. Admiration is not enough for these young men and women. What is it within a person that would cause you to willingly put yourself in such potential danger?

I also thought about first responders. They are the homeland defense, I suppose. The men and women who get up every shift, not knowing if they will return home at the end of the shift. They don't know what they will face, what kind of emergency will call them, yet have prepared themselves for all kinds of situations. It is possible, especially if you are a homebody, to go days, if not weeks or months and never see someone in the US Military. That makes it easy to forget how important they are. It is less likely to go through a week without running into a first responder. They are all around. Police, Fire, Paramedics EMT. 

I wonder how often we have this passing thought - that man/woman would put their life on the line for me - am I worthy of that? Does my life mean more than theirs? It is a humbling thought, and clearly some people do think their life is of utmost importance.

Today is America's INDEPENDENCE DAY. The calendar date happens to be the Fourth of July or 7/4/14 or 7/4/1776 if you get really particular about it. We celebrate wherever it falls during the week, and this week it is Friday, which for many people means ....day off!  It means picnics, and gatherings, and outdoor fun, and fireworks. Here we stand, 238 years later. TWO HUNDRED THIRTY EIGHT - it seems like forever unless you have been to Europe and seen the results of turmoil over hundreds of centuries, even thousands. We are still young, and so far have managed to hold onto our freedom. Ah, what we take for granted though. 

Roger never was too much into all of that, though he did like his potato salad and All-American hot dogs. He only saw danger in fireworks and enjoyed them only if he was far away and not in the maddening crowd. He hated sparklers. He hated the potential for fire and the possibility that someone would step on one of the hot wires that people drop on the ground. Our children experienced them as most American children do - but he was always always on guard and he was never ever the one who bought them.  When we went to parties when the girls were younger, he was always on guard when those things came out. Always watching and prepared for that potential emergency situation. He never relaxed until the fire (sparklers) was out and the wires were cooled down. I can't think of a time when we ever had those side of the road fireworks. 

Roger always thought that we, as a nation, had pretty well forgotten the reality of what INDEPENDENCE Day was all about. He watched movies, documentaries, visual reminders of life lost in this battle for independence from a Monarchy whose people worked to give to the monarchy and those 'in charge.'  Do people today even know what a Monarchy is? Or a Dictatorship?  They should learn. We are starting to feel it in 2014. 

Independence is bigger than all that though. It was about freedom and liberty. I can hear Roger talk about the differences in what freedom and liberty mean across the world. Translations are different. 
In America, we view it as the ability to do as we please. That has translated into a society with little to no consequence, mostly because we have lost our moral compass.  In a monarchy and especially a dictatorship, it translates into being 'free' to do what I say you are free to do, because 'I' the government ruler know best and will give you the parameters, the limits to what you might consider freedom. Wow...some food for thought. He always got right down to the simplicity of it all. 

Moral compass. He talked about that whenever he talked about Freedom, Liberty, Independence. How quickly we have forgotten how God brought this nation into being, what drove men to fight for independence, how we became this bright and shining city on the hill - a light for all the world - a light that drew others here, not for what we could give them, but for the freedom for them to become all they could be. That was the beauty of America. That is what people gave their lives for - it was for the potential to become all that we could be - all that God would want us to be.

So - are we succeeding or are we failing? If we are failing (we are) then how did we get here? 

Simple - we forgot God. We forgot the goodness of God in the land of the living. We stopped thanking Him for what we have and what He has allowed us to achieve. 

Roger's Lesson: Understand the translations. Freedom and Liberty mean something entirely different to Americans and to say, Russians. They mean something different to Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. It's a good thing to think about and consider what freedom and liberty mean to you. The only true freedom is in Christ, but so many miss it. 

This Independence Day, I am not thinking about parties and fireworks, though there will be some. I am reflecting on lives lost, lives willing to die for what they still believe is worth fighting for. I am thinking about what God has provided and also allowed in my life in order to draw me to even more freedom in liberty in Him. 

Freedom from an eternity in Hell - wow, that is big. Freedom to enjoy the abundance of joy with Jesus for eternity. That is even bigger. 

And it is worth fighting for. And it is worth sharing.

Happy Independence Day, indeed. I am blessed to have been born in America. I just hope that God is pleased that He allowed me to be born here. I hope I use this earthly journey wisely, but it is a daily, if not moment by moment decision to do so.

I miss Roger today because I loved his perspective on Independence Day. I have peace though, because I know that his day and his freedom is better than any of us will experience today. 

And Jesus paid it all, gave the ultimate sacrifice so that he could be where he is today. 
And God allowed it - He gave HIS SON to die. 

Not everyone knows what that feels like. 
Military and First Responder parents do though. 
God bless each and every one of them.