Independence Day Reflections

184 years ago today Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both lay on their respective death beds waiting for this day. Those tending to their final moments report them coming in and out of consciousness days and finally hours prior asking if it was here yet, holding out on death until it was. When they finally received an answer in the affirmative they smiled and slipped into eternity knowing what they had done years prior on the same day would secure freedom for generations to come. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 4^th of July 1826.

Not nearly as dramatic or meaningful to securing the freedoms of our country, but closer to home for the writer, 6 years ago today I stood in front of 250+ fellow field training cadets

facing a heritage park for a July 4^th speech. In my line of site was the O-6 giving the speech, the US flag, the POW flag, an F-15, and the Arkansas flag. It was definitely a meaningful 4^th as we approached the mid-way point of field training and most of my stress was over. I had already completed most of the graded events and getting all 250 cadets across base in an orderly fashion on time for the speech was my last tasking as cadet wing/cc. After the speech I was told I had been “struck by lighting” and could only mutter one sentence to the in-coming cadet wing/cc as I was “rushed to the ER.” I also received an AF edition of the Bible from Mom & Laura dated July 4^th that day. It contains several famous speeches, prayers, hymns, anthems, and short passages where members of the military are mentioned in the Bible.

July 4, 2010 finds me in Bagram Afghanistan. Most of the crew is in bed (we are flying tonight, so we’re sleeping during the day) but I’m pretty pumped about my first church service here. In keeping with theme the message was on freedom. But instead focused in the freedom we have in Christ. Freedom from the sin we are born slaves to, free from its guilt as we continually fall short, free from death and its condemnation, and freedom to share his love for us and others. The freedom that Jefferson and Adams secured for us is given by man and can be taken away by man, but thankfully God’s freedom is secured forever and will never be taken way. That’s awesome…