The Fourth!

Today we celebrate 4th of July. We will have all the family here and we will eat hotdogs and brats, chips and strawberries and ice cream. We will then go see the fireworks and our children play with sparklers. And before those fireworks go off, we will all stand and sing the national anthem that will be played on a loud speaker and women will put their hand over their hearts and men will take off their hats.


As I look back at the years we were in India, I have vivid memories of us desperately trying to make the 4th of July special. Having this holiday in India made us feel very alone - almost more than Christmas. Some years we would load up and drive to Delhi so that we could go to the American embassy club and eat Oscar Meyer hotdogs and drink Dr. Pepper and play baseball (you know they only play cricket in India). Another year, we drove at the last minute an hour away to eat Pizza Hut pizza (with a spicy Indian flare, of course). One year we bought some water buffalo meat and rigged up a grill and made buffalo burgers. They smelled fantastic and looked gorgeous, but sadly (and I mean really, really sad) we were not able to bite into them or chew them as there was so much gristle.n- at least we think it was gristle.

There was something about being in a foreign country on the 4th of July. None of our friends from other countries could understand while we were so patriotic as Americans and I had a very difficult time explaining it. It just seemed to be in our blood. We were told that there are very few countries in the world that have the patriotism we do and as they shared this, they were not saying it with admiration. They really thought we were quite strange.

Perhaps it is just an excuse for us to be able to sit around with friends and family and pull out the grill. However I believe that it is much more than that. This country was built on conviction- that we should have the freedom to live and worship our Lord as we desire. It was built on sacrifice and dedication and respect for our fellow man and it continues to send out young men and woman who serve under the same dedication. This is not something we necessarily think about or preach everyday, but these facts are indeed deep inside each one of us.


Obviously this country has innumerable problems, but for today I will eat a hotdog and potato salad and I will swat mosquitoes while we wait for the fireworks. I will treasure watching my children play with their cousins and take notice of all the families coming together and I will put my hand on my heart and sing out loud to the American anthem because I can truly say today, I am proud to be an American.