Its July 4th, which has always meant the day before my birthday, but also a huge block party that my mom and dad would host in our back yard for decades. For me it was a family, friends and community gathering to celebrate summertime, birthdays and fireworks from age 10 to 46! Starting at noon people began showing up to play football, whiffle ball, basketball, chess, freeze tag, kick the can, horseshoes and throughout the day feast on burgers, hotdogs and chicken on the grill with grilled clams, shrimp cocktail and cheese dips as appetizers. Fireworks on the horizon ended the night, along with spicy old bay blue crabs and watermelon on newspapers spread out on the back porch picnic table. I would go to sleep that night as exhausted and filled with joy as any day of the year.
That tradition has faded the last decade, mainly with the passing of our family patriarch, my father Leo, but also divorce and children’s schedules and just life has put the event in the rear view mirror, but the photos and memories are indelible to me and nearly everyone who attended one of Leo’s July 4th extravaganzas!
I have also gained a greater appreciation for what July 4th really represents, what INDEPENDENCE DAY actually means. I grew up a few miles from Washington’s Crossing, a point on the Delaware River where General George Washington, before he was our first president, led a midnight sneak attack across the river on the Hessian/Red Coat stronghold that ultimately turned the tide in the Revolutionary War and led to the United States declaring its freedom from Great Britain. I have read accounts of the bravery and resiliency of the soldiers during the attack that night, through the cold and snow and ice to accomplish a feat that would ultimately reshape history. I wonder if I would have had the courage to do what those men did. I hope so.
That was 240 years ago, or so, which sounds like a long time, until I traveled in Italy and Greece and toured the ancient ruins. And also traveled and played golf in Scotland, where the "old course" at St. Andrews was laid out over 400 years ago! Wow, that’s almost three full lifetimes longer than our country has been formed. Time is a funny thing as we try to gain a perspective on our life and on our personal and collective history.
So, I am trying to start a new tradition with my family, gathering at the beach at Topsail Island in North Carolina. As I type, I stare out at the ocean on an overcast rainy day. It reminds me of another crucial moment in history I have seen in the movies, the landing of troops at Normandy to fight the evil Nazi regime in Europe in 1944. A quote from the Zoweh HEART OF A WARRIOR retreats I attend comes to mind where General Eisenhower said "history does not long entrust the care of freedom to weak and timid." So true, both yesterday, and tomorrow.
Most of my family and friends are so fortunate to have been born in America, and for all of our country’s problems, shortcomings and disagreements, our democracy is still the best form of government for the people the world has ever known. Sometimes its scary to think about how long it will last as it is attacked not just externally, but also from within by forces not only man made, but also spiritual.
My prayer on this INDEPENDENCE DAY is that we commemorate our country’s independence from tyranny, yes; but moreover, we recognize our DEPENDANCE on the God that has blessed our country with prosperity and protection for so long and that we also realize that the United States of America was in fact initially founded on those covenant principals between us and HIM.
Maybe we should rename July 4th as DEPENDENCE DAY?
Whatever you call it, I hope you enjoy your July 4th with family and friends and fireworks. Also, take a minute to stop and offer a prayer for our country and its future.
Amen and AMEN.