July is almost here, my friends. And with July, comes our July 4th Holiday. I can’t imagine a time in which we have needed an American Holiday more than we need one right now.
Can you imagine the hope within Americans who founded this great Country? Not just hope, but also faith, great expectation and good old American grit?
That question was rhetorical. None of us can really imagine it. We are the ones who have gotten to benefit from what others have fought for, what others have given their all for.
We are experiencing things right now that don’t even resemble the America that I grew up in. I watch the news and I think, “What Country is this? Is this really happening in America?”
I’m not naive. I know that we have problems in our Country. It’s like every other Country. We have made great mistakes as a Country and we have paid dearly for those mistakes.
We have areas that need great improvement. What Country doesn’t? Sometimes, I think that our Country takes one step forward and ten back.
But, having said all that, I still believe that the USA is the greatest Country on this earth. And I, for one, have hope. I have hope in the USA and I have hope in you and me.
I have hope that we can come together in love, in peace and in harmony. I have hope that America will stand strong during this conflict.
This July 4th will probably be very different from our previous July 4th Holidays.
Most fireworks and parades have been cancelled and since cases are on the rise in a lot of areas, you may not be able to be with your family and friends.
But I want to send you some encouragement to keep hope alive in your heart. Have hope for our Country, hope for all Her people and hope that God’s love will prevail.
Let your faith be bigger than your fear and do everything you can to be a peacemaker. Because God wants us to live in His peace.
When chaos rules our lives, it’s hard for us to talk, walk or act in God’s peace. It’s hard for us to see good in others and it’s hard to show others God’s love.
I’m sending out an early July 4th greeting to all my online friends and family, to wish you a safe, fun and happy July 4th Holiday. May God keep you and your family safe and happy.
Sending you blessings of love, peace, hope and gratitude from Sterrett, Alabama!
Charity M. Richey-Bentley