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My fondest memory of celebrating Independence Day was when everyone gathered with friends and family and had a cookout, eat watermelon and pop our few firecrackers.  I don’t know about the rest of the country but being from the South it wasn’t always just hotdogs and hamburgers.  We would cook anything and everything we could think of on the grill; chicken, pork chops, sausage, ribs and I even remember a few times thick-sliced bologna being thrown on the grill.

As the years went by we got away from the traditional celebration with friends and family. Everyone stayed at their own homes, watch television and cooked out.  It wind up that I and many others would have to work on “The” most important date in our country’s history.  It seemed to me that the country as a whole was getting away from remembering what this day was all about.  It’s not only about our independence from foreign rule but also the ones that have fought for our freedom and those that are standing guard and fighting today. 

A few years back I felt a yearning for the good times. My wife and I made a cross state trip to spend the 4th with friends we call family to have a big cookout. That will wind up as one of the most memorable fourth’s for me.  This year we got to participate in a town’s parade. I enjoyed meeting people I didn’t know and some I haven’t seen in a while.  After the parade with all our new-found friends we shared hotdogs and watermelon and sat down and talked.  The thought came to me during this time that some others were beginning to think like me; that America is forgetting what the special holidays are really set aside for and concentrating on more of the here and now. Too many are more concerned with trying to get to their destination on time and basking in the sun on a beach or at a lake then actually spending quality time with their family and smiling at their American brothers and sisters on the way.

As American’s lets never forget the real meaning of this special day. Take a moment out of your busy schedule and give God above thanks for His glorious bounty of this great nation. And don’t forget to say a prayer for those that stand guard over us as we sleep.  “Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…” (Jeremiah 6:16) Everyone have a great 4th of July and let’s never forget.