I LOVE America! And this year we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But did you know Americans were not free the next day on July 5th of 1776? The American Revolutionary War began before the Declaration, in April 1775. But after July 4, 1776, the war continued until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783. Historians estimate that the Revolutionary War included more than 1,500 land and naval engagements overall, with well over 1,000 of them occurring after independence was declared. By the end of the war, approximately 25,000 American combatants had died. About 6,800 to 8,600 of them died in battle, and many more from disease, captivity, and hardship.
Freedom is not automatic or free.
It takes blood to earn freedom. It is not free! It took a monumental sacrifice from men and women to win our fight for independence. They believed in the cause for freedom to the point of willing to die for this country. And it still takes sacrifice from men and women today to maintain the freedom we all hold so dear. To me, every day is Memorial Day and Veterans Day. I am grateful and forever in debt to all those who gave their lives through the years to obtain our freedom and to keep it.
My personal story about freedom.
You see, I am originally from Nicaragua where people were free during a long time after declaring independence from Spain. However, that freedom ended in 1979 when the communist regime took over the country. I’m grateful that God gave my family the opportunity to flee the country when I was 13 years old. I am the second of six children. I’ll never forget living in a Red Cross cargo plane that came to Nicaragua to rescue people from El Salvador. My parents heard about it, and we all left our home (even our dog was left behind with the maids).
We fled with only our suitcases and backpacks. But when we arrived at the airport there was no room for us on the plane… After negotiating with the pilot, my dad stayed behind with all our luggage and my mom left with the kids. We didn’t know if we would ever see our dad again. God had other plans though. That day there was one commercial airplane landing in Nicaragua from Argentina to refuel with destination to Costa Rica. And there was one seat open on the plane. My dad was able to get on the plane and fled to Costa Rica. Within a few days we reunited in El Salvador. A week later we arrived in the Dominican Republic where we were refugees for almost seven years.
While living in the DR, my parents met people who lived in the Twin Cities. And they offered to help us by opening homes for each kid to come to the US. My parents worked on getting the visas and one by one we came to America. My turn came in January of 1986. I arrived with only three things: my suitcase, my work visa, and my faith! Fast forward and 40 years later I’m still here living the American dream.
America is worth loving and defending.
And what is the American dream? First of all, it’s being free! Free to choose what work you want to pursue, what schools to attend, what religion you want to practice. And multiple other choices you can make throughout your life. Communist regimes take ALL your rights away. There are no choices for schools or opportunities for a variety of careers. Even the food that comes into the country is limited and of course, no choice of religion. In fact, they are atheists and practicing any religion – especially Christianity is forbidden.
Today, I encourage you to once again be proud of being an American. It should never be wrong for any person to say they love America. This is still the best country in the world to live in. Why? Simply because we are truly free in every way. Some people are called to fight by joining the military to preserve our freedom. Others fight in the political realm to establish or preserve our policies and laws to protect our freedoms. And those of us who are called to be parents, we fight for the right to raise our own children. We fight to not allow our children to be indoctrinated in schools or through social media with hatred for America.
From Patriotic freedom to Spiritual freedom.
I shared my personal story as a first-generation immigrant in America so you understand why I’m so grateful to this country. I also want to convey what can happen when a country loses its freedom – and why we must never take freedom for granted.
But more importantly than the physical freedom we enjoy in America, there is the ultimate freedom from sin. And Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice with His blood to give us the gift of spiritual freedom – for eternity. And it’s truly free indeed! I invite you to accept the gift of salvation given to you by Jesus Christ. You will never regret it and will be truly free for eternity.
Gratitude, love, and respect.
I end this message with a THANK YOU to all of you who have served in our military or are family of those who served. THANK YOU to all of you serving the country through politics fighting to preserve the origins of our amazing country based on the Bible. And I THANK God for sending Jesus to come and give us the true freedom of living with Him eternally.
Enjoy celebrating FREEDOM with your loved ones. Happy 250th anniversary America, my beloved adopted country! I pray to God that our children and grandchildren can celebrate another 250 years in the future!
With much gratitude, love and respect…