Independence

Each morning, the school that our children attend begins with the Pledge of Allegiance (yes, with ALL of the words, even with emphasis on "under God") and on Wednesday mornings during the school assembly, they add the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, first and last verse. The first time we visited on assembly day and heard 500 beautiful, clear young voices singing our national anthem, I was moved to tears. I have probably attended 40 assemblies since and my reaction is always the same. I am ashamed to admit that I had never sung the other verses until my children taught them to me. Now, that last verse is my personal favorite. Growing up in a military family definitely instills a sense of patriotism in you, regardless of your political leanings. The thought that, at any moment, my father could and would give his own life to secure the freedoms that we enjoy was never far from my mind. He spent months and years at a time in a different hemisphere, and we never knew for sure that he was coming back alive. There is a popular poem titled "Freedom is Not Free." Indeed it is not. Not only do we have earthly men who defend it and value it above their own lives, we also have a Heavenly Father who guided the founders of our country by His hand. For anyone else who is not familiar with our national anthem past the point where we hear a lot of cheering and the words "Play Ball," here is the last verse. You should hear the kids at school on those last two lines. It is incredible!

O! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vic'try and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must when our cause it is just
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!