Wow.
My first Independence Day as a US citizen is over.
Did it feel different when I was watching the fireworks?
Yes! - and no.
Yes because all of a sudden this was my experience.
No because last year I was already feeling extremely patriotic, especially because September 11th weighed on my mind as I listened to Lee Greenwood sing "I'm proud to be an American" and tears were rolling down my cheeks.
Tonight, it was a different feeling - patriotism, yes, but mostly pride.
Pride to be part of this amazing experience called the United States of America.
As I looked around me, I realized that I may have been one of the few people there who were thinking about the amount of blessings that the Lord has poured out on this country.
Even having grown up in Germany, a free country with contented people, I have never experienced the feeling of complete and utter freedom coupled with prosperity that I perceived tonight in those I saw around me.
I looked back over my shoulder to the gigantic United States flag that flies over Kerr Park in Downingtown and shuddered with excitement and gratefulness to be a real part of this.
Tonight, I caught myself smiling at how I used to smirk at Lee Greenwood's song and how, tonight, I was singing it over and over again in my head: "...and the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away". And smiling because I used to tell my husband he couldn't fly a US flag unless I could fly a German one and how today, only the US flag was proudly flying from our house.
I breathed a prayer of thankfulness to my precious Lord and at the same time asked that He would touch each of the people at the fireworks with us tonight in a very special way.
A way, which will allow them to see that everything that is good and lovely around them comes from our precious Father.
Thank you, America, for taking me in, and thank you, Jesus, for pouring out these incredible riches on this country and on my family.
May God bless the USA!
In Christ,
Elke

posted by Elke at 11:19 PM