My Favorite Holiday

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I know as a Christian I’m supposed to add “besides Christmas,” but if I’m being perfectly honest I like Independence Day best, better than Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving. I appreciate the meaning of Christmas and Easter better – Christ born and Christ resurrected – but when it comes to holiday vibe… you simply can’t beat the 4th of July. Maybe this is because I’m a summer girl… I love the pace and weather of summer, so an extra day off for everyone to jump in the pool, run through the sprinklers, eat on the patio, and gather around the campfire? Sign me up for that. Plus there are all these social obligations and pressures that surround all the other big holidays – turkeys to be roasted, gifts to be bought, church dresses to be purchased. On the 4th of July, you slap on your swimsuit, pop a burger on the grill, and call it a day. A very good, restful, joyous day.

But lately I’ve had mixed feelings about celebrating this great country we live in, because it doesn’t seem so great most of the time. How do I acknowledge that I love the USA and feel privileged to be a citizen here while I also grieve the direction our country is headed. Part of me wants to wear all the red, white, and blue, sing the Star-Spangled Banner with my hand over my  heart, and chant “USA! USA” as the Olympics unfold next month. I mean, U.S. Women’s Gymnastics for life, right? I love my country. I love its (mostly) clean cities and sprawling highways. I love its oceans, lakes, and rivers. I love its rolling fields and its tidy suburbs. I am thankful for the opportunity to exercise my right to vote and to go to church where I please and work a job and drive a car. The United States is my home. My native land.

But then I look at the daily headlines, the shifting policies, and the candidates running for president, and I feel a burden in my heart. We are such an evil nation and only getting worse. We are selfish, immoral, and immature. We don’t respect life. We don’t respect one another. And the freedom to practice any religion we please or to speak openly about our beliefs – rights this country was founded upon – are slowly slipping away. This is not surprising. I’ve read the Bible and I know where the whole world is headed (2 Timothy 3:1-5). I just don’t know how to participate as a citizen of a country that hates God and everything about His Kingdom. How do I cast my vote in the next election with a heart that is thankful for democracy yet burdened by the corruption within our political system? How do I sing the national anthem with pride while I also mourn the brokenness all around me?

I guess what I’m really asking is how I exist in this world when heaven is my true home? How do I say “I’m glad I live in the U.S. but my heart breaks at the depravity all around me.” “I’m thankful to vote, but I’m grieved at the choice of candidates.” “I’m happy to be an American but I am sad that we approve of gay marriage, accessible and convenient abortion, and doctor assisted suicide.” “I’m grateful for the right to partake in any religion and to speak freely in public forums such as this blog, but I fear my children will not have those same liberties.” How do I keep on participating in the community where God has placed me now while longing for the heavenly kingdom where I truly belong.

Those are my thoughts today, on my favorite of all holidays. If you need me, I’ll be in the backyard, eating a hot dog happily and jumping in the pool with glee. The freedom I experience in this country is God’s grace to me. I’m proud to be an American, but I’m thankful my true citizenship is in heaven.