Fourth of July

I've been solemnly watching the world around me over the past couple of weeks leading up to this, usually celebratory holiday. Protests over racism, tearing down of statues of any person with mistakes attached to their past, heated arguments between good people about the "right" way to proceed. Labeling of others as "idiots", "ignorant", "feeding a narrative". It's just heavy. I'm glimpsing the truth of the words of the Savior "my yoke is easy and my burden is light" because the burden of the world right now is so heavy that the only way to endure is to yoke myself to the Lord.

My friend shared these words and they resonated with me as

"It's a lot right now. It's heavy. It's hard for many to feel patriotic, either because they don't believe our country has ever been something to be proud of, or because they are mourning what it has become as people become more divisive. Either way, there is mourning now. We have work to do. it has become clear to me many times that my role in that work is to share hope and light. To magnify the good and strive to be the good. Do you know your role? We all have one, whether it's warrior, theater, or other. Let's continue to work in faith that we can and will create a world wherein all of His children can be one. Not "the same," but one in heart, mourning with those that mourn, Comforting those that stand in need of comfort. We can't wait around for God to make that happen. We need to BUILD this world, and it starts by building it in our own hearts. I'm working on my heart. I stumble every day (somethings hour) but I'm working. How are you working on yours? Happy Independence Day Weekend for those celebrating, those feeling quiet reverence or somberness, and those who cannot celebrate. I see you and I love you." -McKenna Gordon @happyathomeschool

These words allowed me to finally put in words some of the feelings that I have been having lately and I want to share them here:

I've been silent on Social Media for a couple of weeks as I've been trying to find my best words, to know what Heavenly Father wants me to do to push His work along, and to make this place a place of love and peace for all his Children.      - - -    It's been a heavy month.     

I want to be able to post about my baby's first birthday and eating popsicles on the grass without feeling like I'm ignoring a significant issue in society. I feel like I have to make this post before I can do that, then hopefully I will be able to find a good balance. 

I believe that Satan frequently presents his lies in pairs, in extremes. The grand plan is to make you feel that if you are against one, then you have to choose the other. And then you have to defend your choice at all costs "lest evil win".

But the path of Christ falls in the tricky-to-navigate path in the middle. It takes faith, it takes hope, it takes a willingness to be humble, to listen to both sides, to pray, to stand for truth and righteousness while still using the goodness of God to change within and reach out with love.

This is a place where we stand and say "We will not allow racism to take place in our hearts and in our society. We will work to be anti-racist in our homes and communities. We recognize that there is hurtand there ARE problems and we use the grace of God to navigate those issues and do the work to better the society we are in."

We listen to others and we do not tell them that their experiences aren't real because they don't match our own life experiences. We repent, we diversify the books and voices we listen to, we find those of different backgrounds who love the Lord and we link arms with them in Faith. We mourn with those that mourn. 

We educate ourselves by listening to real stories of real people (both who think similarly and those who think differently), we do not use their stories to "prove our point" but we use them to understand the world that we live in.

We also stand. 

I believe that policies will not fix the hearts of the people. Only people can do that. There is a slippery slope to asking policy (and government) to enforce what only hearts have the power to change. Governmental change for positive change is good. Extreme policy without extensive and careful consideration is dangerous and will have extreme and damaging unintended consequences for all parties.

We do not allow those with a flawed past, but who tried to do right in the sphere that they had to be criminalized and the good they did erased. "We should judge our historic figures by whether or not, on the whole they were bending the arc of history toward a more perfect union."

We need to understand our history, teach the complexity of humanness, and recognize the hand of the Lord in the lives of those that came before us.

We take our past and we BUILD our future.

Today I celebrate America. I celebrate with solemnity and recognition of the work that can and should be done to create a future of goodness and light. I celebrate that we CAN build. That we can learn and change.

I will walk the middle path, the path of love and strength. I will stand for truth and righteousness against both extremes in all circumstances and help build a community - a country to be proud of.

"The Bible carried across the ocean by early colonists and settlers sparked not only the hope of freedom but the confidence that God could do wonders with flawed human beings. It has been noted from the Bible that Peter had a temper, Jonah ran from God, David had an affair, Paul was a persecutor, Noah got drunk, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Matthew was a sinner, Thomas was a doubter, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus, of course, was dead. Each was flawed, each worthy of a monument. 

America is made from the many foundational principles etched in our history and engraven on our monuments by the founders and by those who have followed. Our heroines and heroes are representative of one of the most redeeming attributes of our nation — that America, at its core, is a redemption story. 

Over and over and over again, this nation has been renewed, restored and redeemed. That should provide us, individually and collectively, hope for better days ahead." 

-Boyd Matheson 

 I have a prayer in my heart for our country today. For each one of you, wherever you are Latin heart and mind, and for the Lord to lead us and help us navigate this path together.

A few other thoughts that I saw today that resonated with me: 
"Home of the Brave. Let's continue to be brave and stand for truth and what's right." - Fatima Dedrickson @stylefitfatty

"Fison Mwesige is celebrating Independence Day as one of America's newest citizens. His words below inspire a sense of patriotism and gratitude for the country he now calls home: 'The United States is known as a multicultural nation; no country on earth has such diversity. People of different faiths, religions come from every part of the world and become the citizens of this great country and call it their own. What a privilege!  I am so happy to become a US citizen, and it is an honor and great feeling I can't even express in words. God bless Mr. Boyer and his family for their great heart of helping refugee students become successful in this great country and living the American dream. I am grateful and so happy to be a citizen.' " @one_refugee

This is me sharing my heart about some of the things going on in our country right now. Honestly, I wrote these things more for me than for anyone else. 

I want this collection of squares (Instagram) on the internet as well as this blog/book to be a place where I can share all the pieces of my heart: the heavy, the determined, the humble, the simple, the joyful. I've been stuck waiting for the right words, but they aren't there. So I will share these:

 I am a builder. I will build my home, my community, my country to be the place that my hope and faith tells me it can be. I will humbly listen, pray with faith, and go forth with effort and truth. I will share light, I will teach love, I will make mistakes but I will not give up. I will build bridges and I will build fortifications. I will build a sanctuary of faith in my heart and home. I will work to build peace outside of my home. I love America and will work to build it, too. It's the Fourth of July today and my heart is solemn with gratitude for those (of all backgrounds) who have worked to make our country what it is, and pledge to do my part to continue to build on their legacy with love and faith.

Here are a few pictures from our 4th of July night. Watching fireworks with Lydia and Austin and reflecting on many of the things above. 

I'm also adding in these two screenshots from @OhHappyDani. I love that they speak to my desire to use my influence within my sphere of influence and what that might look like. 

Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day from our red-white-and-blue family to yours. 

It's hard to express my feelings of gratitude, pride, and determination that always come in waves on this holiday. Thinking about the incredible men and women who fought for freedom during the revolutionary war fills me with gratitude and pride. They were so courageous and did amazing and difficult things because they knew that their actions were more important than themselves - they were fighting for their children, and their children's children, for all those who would call America their home. It fills me with a determination to be brave, to do things that are hard, and to stand for what is right so that the generations that follow me will also be blessed. To teach my children what it means to choose liberty and fight for freedom. 

We had a "stay-home day" and just hung out around the house. David had the day off (he's had the whole past week off and it's been wonderful) and he spent a good amount of it holding Caleb so he could sleep because he was having a pretty rough day. Later in the evening we had David's parents, plus Amy and Kevin over for dinner and games, then the Rencher Family joined us while we watched fireworks. I turned on the Star Spangled Banner and was touched to think of those men and women who watched the U.S. flag flying over Fort McHenry while the British forces opened fire to try to knock it down. To think of those who gave their lives in an effort to keep the flag from being destroyed. To those who saw the flag still standing at dawn, though in tatters, as a mark that the United States of America would not be beaten - that they would stand, brave and true. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking, inspiring story of the people who knew this the freedom of this land was of vast importance. This land where the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored. Surely, the Lord was with those people - and all the people since who have followed him and stood for truth, righteousness, and freedom in this country. 

Ether 2:
9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Happy Independence Day!

“Most of us will not be called to help nations organize newly found freedoms, but all of us can be involved by making certain the light of freedom burns brightly within our own souls. We can be certain that, by our actions, we are examples of how freedom should be enjoyed.” 

–L. Tom Perry from his April 1990 Conference Address

"We dare not forget that we are heirs of that first revolution."

-John F. Kennedy

I feel the light of freedom in my own soul burn so brightly and I cannot adequately express my gratitude for those who sacrificed so much to create and protect this great country where we live. The brave men and women who stood up with their words and actions and founded the United States of America, as a land of freedom and bravery. The many, many, men and women who have continued to stand time and time again to protect this country and to continue to build a nation of patriots. 

We celebrated our nation's birthday with good food and family, and late that night as I sat with Lydia tucked on my lap watching fireworks - I whispered to her about how the fireworks celebrate America and remind us of all the brave men and women who fought to give us so much. 

 

{We put Lydia down to bed fairly early and then woke her up to let her come watch fireworks with us. I wrapped her up in a blanket and walked with her down the street toward the Thanksgiving Point fireworks, only to realize that the sweet girl was so terrified of all the fireworks going off around us that she was shaking. We came home and watched from inside our house for a while before we convinced her to come outside and just sit on our front lawn to watch fireworks. I'm pretty sure we could see three different big shows from our front lawn and about 6 more smaller arial firework shows going on in our neighborhood. It was incredibly loud and beautiful and scary all at the same time.}

When I went to put Lydia down for the night, I laid with her and I sang "The Star Spangled Banner" until she fell asleep because the fireworks were still going off outside her window. I hope to teach Lydia (and Austin) to love and appreciate and fight to protect this country that we love. 

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

-Ronald Reagan

"Our whole social order could self-destruct over its obsession with freedom disconnected from responsibility, where choice is imagined to be somehow independent of consequences" 

- Boyd K. Packer