An Imperfect Christian Mom's COVID-19 Diary #12

 

It's Independence Day in America. A sad day this year. So much of the focus is on what divides us. So many lives, actions, and happenings politicized for the benefit of one party or another. Add to that the many who have lost loved ones this year and are still not able to grieve normally or gather with family and friends due to the current circumstances. All this is so distancing.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, not all parties agreed; yet they worked together for the common good. Maybe we should watch the movie Independence Day with Will Smith and Bill Pullman to remember we are better when we all pull together. That seems so silly to say, but we really need to give more attention to having compassion for each other, helping each other, and remembering how great America is.

We were blessed to be able to vacation this year, but even we are staying closer to the vacation home than in other years. When we go out, everyone has masks on. Some restaurants have not survived the pandemic or are working at reduced capacity per restrictions or with reduced hours because of travel restrictions leading to no international work staff. Think of how those international students who planned to spend their summers working here are feeling, too. What has this pandemic cost them?

As things open up, some states are experiencing new spikes in cases. An end to this situation seems far away. A vaccine trial has been delayed. Maybe a pause or a push back in re-opening is on the horizon.

I'm okay with adjusting to this new normal, but my heart yearns to see forgiveness, compassion, and peace reign. Little acts of kindness mean so much--like the car full of teenagers who paid $5 toward our Dairy Queen bill yesterday simply because I let them into the drive thru line. I pray we can move forward as a country to a better place.


Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

~ 1 Peter 3:8-9

Happy Independence Day!

As America celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have served and who are currently serving in the U.S. Military and their families.

God Bless America!!!

God Bless America
by Irving Berlin

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Here's another excellent song that celebrates America:



To see Lee Greenwood's actual video you can go here.

Lastly, though I'm sure you know it, here are the lyrics to America's National Anthem:



The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!