Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day!

I know patriotism isn't popular these days, but since it is July 4th, I just wanted to let you know that I am thankful to be from the United States. I have traveled enough in various countries to know that we are immensely blessed in our country. We are blessed with abundance and freedom and peace and an overall charitable spirit among our people.

Of course we abuse these things and of course we are not perfect; no nation is. But I am very thankful to live in a place where we have the freedom to worship as we choose, where my children have access to free education all the way through high school (and where I can choose not to send them to state schools if I don't want to), where we have access to food and clean water at relatively good prices. I am even thankful that we live where we can choose to live selfishly, because a compulsive generosity is really not generous at all. I pray that we choose to live generously and wisely with what we have been given, and I ask for wisdom to see where our family does not.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! May you find a little bit of joy in being an American today, knowing that even our ability to criticize our country is a freedom not many around the world enjoy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Fourth to you!! We do have much to be thankful for.

Kerry said...

Hope you had a wonderful Independence Day!

We enjoyed an afternoon at our friends' pool with some of our church family. They put on a GREAT fireworks show (really good SC fireworks) in the evening. Now we are all a little sunburned and exhausted, but it was worth it!

Jennifer @ Conversion Diary said...

Thank you for this refreshingly optimistic post! I hope you had a great 4th of July. God bless America.