Dear Friends,
July 4, Independence Day is about to be celebrated. Picnics, hot dogs, parades, fireworks since the Thirteen Colonies separated from Great Britain 242 years ago in 1776. That’s a long time to be continuously celebrating independence… along with all of the freedoms that are ours.
As classmates in our mid-70’s, we are learning that there are particular freedoms and liberties that we celebrate and others that are slipping away… like reading the fine print on the menu or hearing the lab assistant call out our name.
We can identify with Harry Emerson Fosdick who wrote that “liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.”
This July 4th week you will likely hear or sing one of this country’s great patriotic hymns, America the Beautiful. Verses one and four of this hymn conclude with “God shed his grace on thee.” Perhaps that’s how we’ve been doing this American experiment for 242+ years!… and it may also be how we, as His creatures, are best equipped to live out our lives even as we lose some of our independence.
“God shed His grace on you” and have a great July 4th!
~Wynn
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” II Corinthians 12:9