Oh, land that I love.

I was driving down Highway 45 in Mississippi last Monday with my daughter’s dog and two cats in tow, and I pondered the seeming absurdity of it all.  Here I am in this vehicle with two cats in a carrier in the back and with the dog in her carrier right behind my head and with things stuffed in every corner to give to my daughter and her new husband when I meet up with them…here we go on a 5 ½ hour adventure.

You know what I love about our land?  I love being able to do something like that if I want to.  In Saudi Arabia, women are just now being allowed to drive.  Wow!  I love traveling.  I love driving.  My life has revolved around Interstate 55, Interstate 65, and Interstate 10 for years.  I’ve also had some great adventures on Highway 51, Highway 305 and Highway 31 in Alabama.  Isn’t it great to be able to get in your car and drive wherever you want to go?

What roads come to mind for you?  Any roads of special significance?

Oh, land that I love.

So I got on the road with my supply of snacks.  I’m into the Cheezit Grooves right now—sharp white cheddar.  Good stuff.  You know, I just like junk food.  Potato chips, pretzels, roasted peanuts.

What about you?  What kind of junk food do you like?

Oh, land that I love.

So I turn the radio on.  I love Sirius XM radio.  By the way, the dog and cats tended not to like the 70s and 80s nor the classic rewind or classic vinyl.  It seemed that Yacht Rock Radio and The Bridge were better for them.

I like American music.

• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• James Taylor
• Billy Joel
• Chicago
• ZZ Top
• Boston
• Journey
• Van Halen

What about you, do you have any to add to the list?

Oh, land that I love.

One of my stops with the pets was a little town in South Alabama called Citronelle.  It’s where my dad was raised.  We stopped at the old high school and I got the dog out to walk around.  And, the dog did what a dog is supposed to do when it’s been cooped in a car for a few hours. The cats, of course, stayed in the carrier.  I would have never been able to get them back into the car had I let them out.

My memories of Citronelle and places like Bay Minette, Alabama and Gulf Shores come flooding back to me.  I love those old places.  My old stomping grounds.

What about you?  What old places come to mind for you?  Places that evoke certain memories…

Oh, land that I love.

I met my daughter and her new husband at a park in Crestview, FL to make the exchange.  Being in a park brought back memories of other parks, of state and national parks.  I love state and national parks.

• The great smoky mountain national park
• Cheaha state park in Alabama
• Chewala state park in northwest Mississippi
• Gulf States Park
• Redwoods national forest in California

What about you?  What state parks or national parks or national forests come to mind for you?

Oh, land that I love.

I spent the night in Crestview and I pondered what I was going to get for supper Monday night.  So, I googled restaurants in the area.  I love restaurants, don’t you?  I settled on…Whataburger.  You know, sometimes you hear of other countries getting a McDonald’s for the first time and it makes you think, sometimes a good old cheeseburger from McDonald’s hits the spot.

I must face it.  I love eating out.  What about you, what are your favorite places to eat out?

Oh, land that I love.

I checked out of the motel Tuesday morning and headed toward central Alabama.  I went to fill up with gas and get me a cup of coffee for the road.  Let’s see, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?  I had a gift card to Starbucks…done…choice made.  I love Starbucks but there’s a Dunkin Donuts on every corner in Florida.  And I’ve got to tell you, it’s pretty good.

What about you?  What’s your favorite coffee?  What’s your favorite beverage?  Isn’t it great to have choices?

Oh, land that I love.

Leaving Florida and heading into Alabama made me think of each state and the unique features they offer to American culture.  Even to the point of geographical features, every state is different.  I wouldn’t take anything for the wonderful beaches on the Alabama coast.  And Florida has so much to offer as well. I love Disney World.  In Mississippi, have you ever visited the petrified forest in Flora?  Really cool.

So what about you?  Any states that you have visited that come to mind with their unique features?

Oh, land that I love.

I drove into Bay Minette, my hometown.  I drove around the town and memories started flooding.  I love my hometown.  Even though some of the places and landmarks have changed, it’s still my hometown.

What about you?  Where do you call your hometown?

Oh, land that I love.

I visited the cemetery in my hometown and paid respect to my parents and grandparents.  As I stood there under a shade tree, I thought about how thankful I was that my parents were able to raise me to the best of their ability in the way they wanted…for better or for worse.  And, mostly it was for the better.  I was thankful that they were free to choose what was best for me, regardless of what others may have thought.

What about you?  What about your upbringing?

Oh, land that I love.

I got home Friday in time to celebrate my wife’s birthday. I love celebrations…milestones…special times.  We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.  We celebrate holidays, both religious holidays and national holidays.  Isn’t it nice to have the freedom to celebrate?  On the fourth of July, we celebrate in many ways.

• We shoot fireworks
• We wear red, white, and blue
• We cook out hamburgers and hotdogs
• We go swimming
• We spend time with family
• We sing patriotic songs
• We attend patriotic progams

Isn’t it nice to have the freedom to celebrate?

Oh, land that I love.

Thinking about all these things about the land we love can lead us to say things like, “I am so blessed” or “we are so blessed” or “our country is so blessed.”  I’ve said it…you’ve said it.  I’m so blessed.

I’ve always had a little of a problem with speaking about being blessed. You see, when I say I am blessed, the implication is that God has, in fact, blessed me.  And so to say that I am blessed would seem to indicate that I am special…not just special, but special in God’s eyes. Nothing wrong with that…that is, until we attach it to what we’ve just been talking about.

For to say that seems to also imply that there are those who are not blessed, who are not seen as special in God’s eyes.  That would mean that God plays favorites and, more specifically, plays favorites with those of us who live in America versus those who live in other countries.  And, as an aside, I can assure you there are many Americans who, right now, would tell you they absolutely do not feel blessed.

But when we think in these terms, it makes it so easy to slide into a worldview indicating that God does, in fact, bless America but that he looks the other way when it comes to blessing other folks in other countries.  And I just don’t think we really believe that, do we?

I love the scripture passage from Luke 4:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Aren’t we all blessed?  Isn’t every person blessed?  Why?  Because Jesus brings good news to the poor.

I am no more special than any other person from any other land, am I?  Why?  Because Jesus proclaims release to the captives.

I am not, in fact, God’s favorite because of where I was born, am I?  Why?  Because Jesus gives recovery of sight to the blind.

My status as an American—in the land that I love—does not mean that I am blessed over others, does it?  Why?  Because Jesus lets the oppressed go free.

• Jesus brings good news to everyone.
• Jesus proclaims release to every captive.
• Jesus allows recovery of sight to everyone.
• Jesus lets all oppressed go free.

And because of that, everyone…everyone is blessed.

Thinking of the 4^th of July and our independence sometimes brings to mind things like the Statue of Liberty.

I’m sure you’ve heard the famous line associated with the Statue of Liberty…”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

This line comes from a poem called “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus in 1883.  She wrote the poem in order to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty.  In 1903 it was cast onto a bronze plaque and placed inside the pedestal’s lower level.

“The New Colossus.”

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

~~~~~

Yes.  I’ve been blessed.  Yes, you’ve been blessed.  And yes, America has been blessed.

But we could just as easily rephrase this into I am prosperous. You are prosperous.  America is prosperous.  Certainly there are those in other corners of the world who are not nearly as prosperous as we are.

But as far as being blessed, God blesses everyone, regardless of where they happen to be born and live.

And so I guess the question we could ponder in our prosperity, living in the land we love, is what is our role in helping God bless others.