Independence Day

Tonight we started our Independence Day Celebration by taking in a minor league baseball game followed by a fantastic fireworks display. The children oohed and aahed throughout the entire thing. I loved looking over and seeing the wonder on their faces.  

As patriotic songs like Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American and Ray Charles' rendition of America the Beautiful played in the background, I felt patriotism well up within me. It is good to slow down and be reminded of the gift it is to live in this country. We have our problems--serious moral failures rooted in our refusal to obey and trust God--but there are many positive things about being born in this nation. 

It is easy to be either comfortable or critical and take for granted our countless freedoms, including the ability to speak our beliefs and assemble and worship as we desire without fear of persecution. 

Even during an economic downturn, we are still an incredibly prosperous nation.

As I looked at my children tonight I was thankful that we live in a society that does not limit how many offspring we are allowed to raise or demand that because I am a woman I must live under a different set of rules and brutal consequences.

Compared to many nations, we are remarkably protected from terroristic attacks.

In the last 3 weeks, 3 men from our part of the state of Georgia have sacrificed their lives overseas as they served our country. Regardless of your personal beliefs about the conflicts we are currently engaged in, I don't think we can argue with the nobleness and selflessness of those men and women (and their families) and the hundreds of thousands that have served before them. 

May we never forget that we are not 'entitled' to the great freedoms we enjoy. We, individually, did not earn them. We have been entrusted with them. Most of us live prosperous free lives without much thought about the very real sacrifice required to gain and maintain what we enjoy.

It was very late as we made our way home, so I resisted my urge to lecture the children about the importance of this holiday. (Don't worry I will get to that tomorrow.) K must have felt it. As I was tucking her into bed she randomly (and quite dramatically) declared,"Christmas and Easter are NOT about the toys and things we get. They are about having JESUS in your heart! (Hands over her heart for dramatic effect.) That is what makes them so very special."
"You are exactly right, sweetie. What made you think about that?"
Incredulously she replied, "Because it is the 4th of July!!"

Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

UPDATED TO ADD: Thanks to J, a deployed soldier's wife, for commenting. Her beautiful post on this subject will linger with me.

And a very happy 4th of July to Mary Beth, a mother of triplets plus one, whose husband returns to U.S. soil TODAY after a year long deployment to Iraq. Wow!