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Happy Fourth of July
By Scott Harrup | July 3, 2008
Tomorrow marks our nation’s 232nd birthday.
When I was growing up, our little church in Virginia where my parents pastored in the ’60s would have a Fourth of July picnic at a local park. We lived close to Washington, and in 1968 my dad took us to the capital for the annual fireworks display. We found a spot at the foot of the Washington Monument. The pyrotechnics just about sent me into PTSD.
In the early ’70s our family was in West Africa, and the Fourth always brought an extra-poignant yearning for home. We were in the States for the Fourth in 1975. I was in the sixth grade when the country seemed to go entirely red, white and blue for the Bicentennial. (Remember those “Bicentennial Minutes” on TV?) But our family returned to Africa just a couple days before the historic nationwide bash of 7/4/76. Talk about unfortunate timing.
So here we are in 2008. My children are getting old enough to appreciate how privileged they are to live in a free nation where communities peacefully celebrate the good times and come together in the bad. We’ll be visiting Willard, Mo., a small town near Springfield, to watch their afternoon parade. That’s been our tradition the past several years.
And as the fire trucks, farm tractors, Shriners’ go-carts, cheerleaders, high school band, Boy Scout troop, customized pickup trucks and classic cars roll by, I’ll probably catch the hint of a lump in my throat and whisper a prayer of gratitude.
This nation is so blessed.
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy that sense of Providence too.
Topics: History, Family Life |
