Monarchies are illuminated by the sun, but a republic should be illuminated only by the constellations of great men.
Benjamin Rush
Summertime is full of canning pickles, snapping green beans, and shelling peas at our house. The pleasant hum of shucking corn and cans sealing is a familiar sound in our home this time of year.
Picking a few ripe blackberries off my vine, I had just enough for all of us to enjoy. I looked down by the creek, and Charlotte took off running towards me. Eva was standing by the water spigot next to Tyson. I leaned down by Tyson, as they tasted the juicy goodness and watched it ooze from their lips. Summer never tasted sweeter.
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George Washington wasn’t as fired up for war as many may think. At the second Virginia Convention, a red-headed Scottish man sat next to George Washington. The motion for war failed, and at that moment, Patrick Henry, with all the passion to persuade the colonists that war was inevitable, stood up and began his dialogue. “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged….I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” It was this speech that altered George Washington’s stance on war. Sometimes all we need is a leader.
Thirty-nine thousand men under the command of Major General Howe, whom George Washington had chased out of Boston, were ready to attack New York City. Still, on the other hand, a courier handed George Washington the most fantastic piece of paper. Once he read it, he called for it to be read aloud from the balcony of City Hall, at the foot of Broadway. It began, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”
George Washington sat quietly watching each Patriot home light a candle in their window that evening. He thought to himself, “My troops could be snuffed out just as easily as these candles burning in the windows. It was one thing to declare independence. It was quite another to bring it to pass in the thirteen colonies.” George Washington faced an impossible task. To defeat the strongest army in the world, how absurd! Yet, he did it with their weapons left abandoned, and gunpowder seized from enemy ships, along with strategic planning. Washington relied on the almighty God to help him every step of the way.
Liberty in our lives and souls can only be found by freedom at the cross of Jesus Christ.
Noah Webster spent his whole life writing. He wanted others to hold in their hands books that were written and published in the United States. Patriots risk their lives for freedom, yet once they had it, they didn’t know how to let go of customs or teachings from England. Many despised Noah Webster. They hated the change he fought for. Yet it did not stop him. You are most familiar with one of his most outstanding achievements, the Webster’s Dictionary. Noah Webster spent most of his life earning very little for his work and primarily financing his writings himself, accumulating significant debts. It wasn’t until after he was dead that he was recognized for the work he had done and accepted by Americans. Royalties were paid to the Webster family in the amount of 250,000 dollars.
Not long ago, I felt inadequate to write about home and family. I know you don’t ever feel underqualified, but I do at times (wink). I told my father how I was feeling, and his words lifted my heart and showed me the way. Judges 6:15 reads, “‘So he said to Him, ‘Oh, my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.'” God chose to use a shepherd to guide Israel. He picked a Pharisee to preach grace, He picked a fisherman to lead the twelve, and He chose a tax collector to write about fairness and honesty. He picks people based on their heart, not their life’s circumstances. Keep your pen handy, you’ve got more to do.'”
Benjamin Franklin, with all his inventions and notoriety around the world, wrote his mother and said that when his time came, he hoped he would be remembered for living useful rather than being rich.
I recently took the kids to a Mennonite milking farm. They were infatuated with the process of milking the cows and the old water pump still out front, which released fresh water from underground. Sips from an old tin cup were not enough to seal their curiosity. Questions reeled and enjoyment flickered. Milk mustaches from fresh milk covered their faces. Charlotte voiced, “Mmmm! It tastes just like ice cream!” The lady smiled at their playfulness. She handed me a jug of fresh milk and said, “Let it sit all night. The cream will rise to the top as it sits. Don’t shake it, or it will disappear into the milk.”
Our assignment may not be crossing the Delaware in the middle of winter or fighting for American literature, but we all have an assignment only we can fill. God needs you. Cream rises without any help from us. God sets favor in motion as we follow Him. Don’t try so hard to figure Him out. Remember, God is too big to miss when you’re looking for Him.
It doesn’t have to be major. It is usually the small things that happen day after day that make the most significant impact; being present.
Find out what He needs you to do and change the world for Jesus, even if it comes from snapping peas and juicy blackberries by a water spigot. Live useful. And chase the butterflies.
Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10
