Happy Fourth of July!!! Celebrate the greatness that is AMERICA! We are so blessed to live in the land of the free. In 1991, I went to Zagreb, Yugoslavia, on a missions trip with my church. It was right as the war there was making headlines in America and the mood amongst the people of Yugoslavia was dark. Even their clothing was dark, simple, plain. We from America laughed easily, wore jeans and tee-shirts and stuck out like sore thumbs. We had to walk a few miles each day to buy bread for our meals because you only bought what you could carry. There were no McDonald's or grocery stores on every corner like there are here at home. Not even a Coke on the store shelves. During our time there we took a train from Zagreb to Germany. Our train was stopped in the middle of the night by soldiers who demanded more money from our group or we would be put off the train in the middle of nowhere. It was scary. I had never been treated this way before. My first thought was, Hey, I'm an American! But I said nothing as our guide paid the soldiers. I realized then that my birthright as a United States citizen was not honored in other countries. I carried with me an expectation that I deserved to be treated well and fairly. I learned a valuable lesson that night, on a train in Germany. Only in America are my rights honored. Only in America am I truly free. By the end of my two week trip I was spiritually fulfilled, but incredibly homesick for America. As we were in mid air crossing over the Atlantic, entering the United States, our pilot announced that we were officially in America. Unexpectedly, I began to cry. I was so grateful for my home land. When I walked through my front door, home at last, I laid down on my floor and kissed the ground - literally. Truly, God has blessed America. Now go light a sparkler!
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Thursday, July 3, 2008
God Bless America
Happy Fourth of July!!! Celebrate the greatness that is AMERICA! We are so blessed to live in the land of the free. In 1991, I went to Zagreb, Yugoslavia, on a missions trip with my church. It was right as the war there was making headlines in America and the mood amongst the people of Yugoslavia was dark. Even their clothing was dark, simple, plain. We from America laughed easily, wore jeans and tee-shirts and stuck out like sore thumbs. We had to walk a few miles each day to buy bread for our meals because you only bought what you could carry. There were no McDonald's or grocery stores on every corner like there are here at home. Not even a Coke on the store shelves. During our time there we took a train from Zagreb to Germany. Our train was stopped in the middle of the night by soldiers who demanded more money from our group or we would be put off the train in the middle of nowhere. It was scary. I had never been treated this way before. My first thought was, Hey, I'm an American! But I said nothing as our guide paid the soldiers. I realized then that my birthright as a United States citizen was not honored in other countries. I carried with me an expectation that I deserved to be treated well and fairly. I learned a valuable lesson that night, on a train in Germany. Only in America are my rights honored. Only in America am I truly free. By the end of my two week trip I was spiritually fulfilled, but incredibly homesick for America. As we were in mid air crossing over the Atlantic, entering the United States, our pilot announced that we were officially in America. Unexpectedly, I began to cry. I was so grateful for my home land. When I walked through my front door, home at last, I laid down on my floor and kissed the ground - literally. Truly, God has blessed America. Now go light a sparkler!
This is a great story. For those of us who have traveled a great deal (I have explored much of this planet in my short years), it is so true, how this country is just the most amazing and wonderful place to live. Thanks for the reminder.
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