The Fourth of July

Much has been written about the birthday of our great nation. I love our national anthem's meaningful words although I have never been able to hit those high notes properly. The words help me to visualize the birth pangs of our country. Hey, maybe that is why those high notes are there as I sing as though in pain. We are one nation under God as our pledge says. God is sovereign and that means even the people who don't believe in The One True God and who claim America as their home are in for a rude awakening if they choose to be independent from God. My parents and my brother and his wife chose to get married on the fourth of July. My dad would always say, he lost his independence on Independence Day! A cool remembrance of my dad's never-ending wit. None of us are are truly independent. I know I am not. I don't want to be independent. We need each other and we need God most of all every single day of our lives. Maybe a better name for this birthday of our diverse country would be simply Happy Birthday, America. In the Bible study I am currently in, one of the speakers points us to II Samuel 7:18 which says, "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?" I could extend this thought to our country. God has brought us this far. Let's BE His people and never be independent from Him in anything we think or do. Thank you, God for bringing our nation this far.