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July, 2004 Here's My Heart... It hardly seems possible that is has been twenty years since my first overseas mission trip and my first time to travel outside the United States. It was 1984, and there I was, in Kaduna, Nigeria, to preach the Gospel in that predominantly Muslim nation. In many ways, I had never felt so all alone. I was in a city where electricity was "spasmodic", at best, and with no communication with the outside world. A military takeover had occurred in the nation only a few weeks before, and people were still being arrested, their property confiscated, their homes burned, and their lives anything but "free". I was staying in the home of Ezekiel and Grace Bamigboye. Ezekiel was the pastor of the Alafia-Oluwa Baptist Church in Kaduna. It was in mid-January, and as I lay down to sleep late one night, I turned on the radio Ezekiel had provided for me. In the quiet stillness of that night, I heard it! It was the voice of the President of the United States giving the State of the Union Address. And, I heard him say, "The state of our union is good and strong, our freedom is secure, and we are at peace!" As I drifted off to sleep, I was thinking, "How different from where I am sleeping tonight!" I think of that experience often, especially at this time of year. In a few days, all across America, we will celebrate our freedom, our "independence" as a nation. Most of us simply refer to it as "The Fourth of July", but it is more, so much more. It is the sacrifice of thousands of men and women, young and old. It is the story of patriots and heroes who found their way into our history books, and so many others who still remain unnamed. It was the courage to stand against what was wrong, and to stand for what was right. It was the blood sacrifices of a revolution, a civil war, two world wards, many regional conflicts, and even now the assisting of other nations whose people long for freedom. And, it was the determination that we would remain "one nation UNDER GOD"! So, enjoy the holiday, the cook-outs, the homemade ice cream, and cut the watermelon, shoot the fireworks, go to the parades, sing the songs, and say the pledge to the flag. But, while doing all of that, REMEMBER. Just take a quiet moment and....REMEMBER! It will do you good. Happy Fourth of July. God bless you, and may God continue to bless America, as the "land of the free, and the home of the brave!" Jim Clayton, |