Seasons change in life. Things change and shift, reflecting different pictures.
For a season of my life The Star Spangled Banner was one of my most favorite songs to sing. Today, I don’t do too much singing publicly, but I still sing. God bless my children and my hubby for all my singing they listen to around the house and in the car!
I remember singing this song for the first time in 8th grade choir. And then, my sophomore year of high school I was asked to sing this song at a basketball game.
Like I always did, I showed up with my accompaniment track, on a cassette tape in those days, and I sang the National Anthem at my first high school basketball game. Afterward, a coach encouraged me to do it next time without the music!
What?!
I could never sing without the music! That felt so naked!
The next few times I still brought my accompaniment, but then one random time I put on my big girl panties, pun totally intended, and I belted it out acapella.
I sang this song so often that one particular time I got finished, walked over to the student section where I planned to eat the hot dog waiting for me that I purchased right before I sang, and my friends said, “What happened? “ I had no idea what they were getting at. I mean, I would remember for sure if I cracked or flubbed. I’ve done that more times than I can count. But this instance I felt it went rather smoothly. Then one of them said, “You skipped straight to the bombs!” How funny! I didn’t even realize until that point that I had missed an entire stanza!
Time has changed very much. In the video you’ll notice my sweet Ruby Sue on the floor behind me and the kids’ cats moseying around, but as different as the picture looks, this is still one of my most favorites.
There is something about “the fight.” Something about a “perilous fight” and “our flag” still there that stirs my heart and my spirit.
We all face fights. We face unimaginable moments of hardship and difficulty, but we come from a people who are fighters.
I am so proud to be an American. Not just today on Independence Day. I am grateful I was born in this United States of America and have inherited the history of this country and my family.
We are a young country. We have many flaws in our past and our present. Something I can relate to and identify with personally.
But we are fighters. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Brave.
Brave is a word that has more definition, meaning and value to me than I can expand on in this post which I intended to be short and sweet.
But brave is something I connect with.
Brave is what the nurses called me in the burn unit during bandage changes.
Brave is what I tell myself when I’m standing on the brink of what I feel like I most certainly will fail at in my own ability.
Brave is what I tap into when I write posts, write this book in the making, show up to take care of NICU babies, step out on a limb to pray with someone I don’t know, parent my children each day, because honestly people, sometimes they scare me, and to record this song to share with you. Gracious that took lots of brave for me.
But just as we come from fighters. We come from so much more. Brave fighters.
I Timothy 6:12 NLT Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.
Psalm 27:14 NLT Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
Happy 4th of July, Brave Fighter!
I pray this post spoke to you. Did you know I’m writing a book?! Would you join me in supporting these endeavors by subscribing to our blog and sharing with your friends and family? We can’t grow with out you.
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