Patriotism and God

Right now I am watching World Trade Center starring Nick Cage. It is the movie that came out 3 yrs ago based on the true story of 2 police officers stuck in the rubble of the WTC on Sept. 11, 2001. Between the movie, my friends and family, and my work/schooling focusing on the military I tend to wonder: What does patriotism REALLY mean?

I LOVE America, more than any other country. There are other countries that I yearn to visit: Ireland, India, Greece, Australia, Holland, England, etc. And a few of these I wouldn't mind living in for a few years. Given that, there is no other country that I want to call MINE other than America.

Even though I voted for the other guy, and I am not happy with the plans the liberals have for my country, I still love her and I pray daily for my fellow Americans, especially our lawmakers, military and first responders. I have a flag that remains by my front door, I write to soldiers, I obey the laws and pay taxes. Those are all good things, but what does it mean to REALLY be patriotic? Is is just a feeling or is a feeling that is evidenced by actions, and what are those actions?

Just because a person flies a flag it does not mean they are patriotic. Which brings me to another point. James (in the Bible) tells us that faith without works is dead, and vice versa. Doing good things, going to church, singing about Christ, all good things, do not make me a Christian, or if I am, a very good one, necessarily. There has to be attitude and choice along with action.

God wants all of us--our actions, our emotions, our hearts, souls, and minds. Christianity isn't just a religion, a set of beliefs to offer comfort. It is a way of life based upon truth.

I guess patriotism is the same--a way of life based upon love for my country. While it is important to love your country it is far more important to love God. Loyalty to the God that created you is of the utmost importance.

I serve my Lord first and foremost and then I serve my family, friends and country. It is all about priorities.

My final thought for the night has to do with counseling. As a newbie in the field I am hit with the overwhelming fact that I am taking on the pain/confusion/fears/doubts/shame/etc. of others and they expect me to help lessen or shrink the problems and help them come out on the other end. That is an amazing calling, scary and humbling. The more I see, and the more counselor friends I talk to the more I wonder: How do non-Christians do it?

There is NO way I could do this job without the Lord right there in the room guiding me. There is no way I could handle to emotional aspect of the job, without the Lord showing me how to care about clients and serve them and then leave their problems in the room. You can't take them with you.

The lyrics from "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" make so much sense to me now. Just like my clients take their problems to me and the load is lifted, we ALL take our problems to the Lord and He is more than able to handle them, and even better- HE WANTS to. We give ourselves---the good and bad to Him and He shrinks them and we can go on. He is the true Counselor, the one that I yearn to mimic. His advice and words are what I hope to share with my clients as well as with friends, family and countrymen.

All these thoughts as I watch WTC. What a night!

-ME-

Autumnal Thoughts

September is half over today and Autumn is right around the corner. I can feel it in the air, and see it as the trees are just beginning to hint at the glorious color that is on its way. Virginia in Autumn is a beautiful place to be- I can't imagine being anywhere else. I just love it.

The change in seasons always reminds me that I need to take time to make sure that with the frenetic pace of life in these United States I'm keeping up spiritually, physically, emotionally and all that.

Life is never easy---for the Christian or the non-Christian. I used to think that as Christians we should have it easier, but as the song "Through the Fire" (which we are singing in choir on Sunday) states "God did not promise that cross would not get heavy, that the hill will not be hard to climb. He never offers our victories without fighting..." but He goes through it WITH us. So yes, looking at it that way, we do have it easier, because we have God right beside us. We all go through crap, some of it is measly little, daily stuff, like watching the clock at work and wishing the hour hand would just move, or struggling with an out of order appliance.

There are also the harder things--death, rape, thievery, friends letting you down, worries about how to pay the bills, a broken car, a kid that is wayward, a spouse that is deployed and you are left at home to man the homefront and pray for a safe return, etc. No matter what the battles are, we have an amazing capability to overcome and be stronger for it.

We also have a built in sense of the amazing--be it the Autumn colors, the glory of crisp air, a major sports feat, watching an ocean sunset, or whatever it is, we are built to enjoy the marvelous, to be enraptured by so much. Autumn (such a prettier word than Fall) is a time to marvel and enjoy life, before the hibernation of Winter. It is a great time to get outside and just breathe--to slow down. It is hard, but it is important. Even if it is just 2 minutes a day, we need to stop and marvel.

-ME-