How to choose just one American icon to highlight during Independence week? We have a lot to choose from: Roanoke, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Plymouth–those are a few that can’t possibly tell the stories of all the people who’ve called this land home. American history includes multiple people groups who’ve won and lost and regrouped on this soil. There’s pain and tears and victories and healing–and always learning. Too much for one short post. But it seemed fitting to bring the whole big picture close to home, so to speak.
We all know the story of Paul Revere’s ride to warn that British forces were coming. Lanterns in the window of Christ Church to illumine the secret code “one if by land; two if by sea,” Lexington and Concord, and the first shots that ushered the colonists into the official start of the Revolutionary War.
A minor detail that brought the imagery to life for me was the fact that Paul Revere stopped by his own home to pick up his boots and overcoat before his famous ride.
It’s a small fact with no major meaning. Except that it made him a living, breathing real person who did daily life so long ago. I love that. I love when a single person’s story breathes through time to us.
Our highs and lows as a country involve us as a whole, yes. But each success and victory impacts each of us–millions of individuals who have lives and journeys worth sharing.
How many times did Paul Revere walk through this door? On good days and bad, when life felt joyful and through every struggle, this door opened the way to a place of belonging for him and his family.
American would not be the same without that famous ride. Nor would it be the same without the anchor of home that Paul Revere and thousands of others have fought for over time.
America’s “ruins” are worth honoring because they remind us of the need to keep America from falling into ruin. As we celebrate Independence Day 2019, may we treat each other and others with a level of honor that’s worthy of asking God to bless America.