Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

 

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.  What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”  Thomas Paine

 

Almost as soon as she was posted in her bracket on the front of our house this morning, our American Flag began to billow and wave on the breeze almost as a wave of assurance that all for which she has stood for years…still remained. 

And yesterday, once again, and every year since June 14, 1777, we continue the annual tribute to honor and remember that grand flag of our Nation; a flag which has become of symbol of freedom, courage and sacrifice throughout the centuries and the world.  

Woven together with colors of red, white and blue, to represent a Nation bound together by the courage and sacrifice of so many who have gone before.  And woven together by the strands of those lives which have gone before us, which reflected a clear allegiance to duty, commitment to country and to a hope in something better.  Lives dedicated to a Nation intended to be bound together from its beginnings by a faith in our God able to lead and carry us to heights much greater than our individual or collective efforts could ever hope to accomplish.

Yet today, the foundations which have bound us together seem to be under assault and shaking a bit in the winds of uncertainty as to what tomorrow will bring.  Foundations historically grounded in unwavering faith, values, virtue, and economic stability.  In the midst of that, perhaps we need to remember how far we’ve come under the protection of the red, white and blue through the ages.  Perhaps a moment’s reflection as to the abundance we still stand in the midst of will help to inject some perspective into the state of things which the naysayers characterize as dismal and like nothing they have seen before. 

Perhaps a moment of personal sacrifice and patience—taken from the example of all those who have gone before us—would serve us all well in the times in which we live. 

Perhaps a moment of remembrance that as a Nation we have faced times like this before.

Perhaps followed by a moment of commitment to do all we can do individually and collectively to set this great experiment of God back on a course that is aligned with the God of our foundations.  A course upon which we have traveled in all our best days—remembering that, as Thomas Paine reminded those during the founding of this great Nation—“the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Perhaps a moment where we are called to something outside of ourselves…

 

“And so my fellow Americans:  ask not what your Country can do for you—ask what you can do for your Country…

With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

 

            Looking back, the best moments never seemed to arrive with ease; and yet they always seemed so much dearer when they finally were achieved.

            And so, in the journey ahead, long may she wave—over our Nation, our lives and the generations to follow—all under the leadership of the God of our foundations and heritage.

 

                                                                        In His Name—Scott

 

 

Copyright 2009.  Scott L. Whitaker.  All rights reserved.