Yeah, so we've been without electricity at our house in Zanesville, Ohio, since, oh, about 10 minutes until 6 p.m. on Friday, June 29, but who's keeping close track of that?
Hmmm? Not I, said the duck.
Anyway, it's been a fairly miserable week from a comfort standpoint, but we're definitely not the only ones in this exceedingly hot boat. My fellow Americans from Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic Coast -- a bunch a million of us -- have been, and are still without electric power. But some are better off than others.
Elderly folks, those who live alone, those with disabilities; there are many whose struggle with the heat and humidity is much greater than what we are facing at the Carter house.
Each night as we have settled down to sleep, we have thanked God for the blessings of a roof over our heads, running water (hot and cold), working vehicles with air conditioning, places to eat and find respite from the heat, and a variety of other amenities that we enjoy in these United States of America.
We have these benefits thanks to the freedom and liberty secured for us with the blood, sweat, and tears of patriots who dreamed a dream of a better life for themselves and those who would follow in their footsteps. We enjoy all the benefits of that freedom and liberty thanks to those who continued to believe in that dream and fought to keep that dream alive.
Those who gave themselves in our place paved the way for the great thinkers and doers who developed all of the great technology that makes our lives easier. Without freedom and liberty, so many of the things we enjoy today would have never existed.
It's Independence Day, and I am compelled to pause and remember, to honor, to shed some tears for all of those -- both famous and unknown to the history books -- who made the sacrifices that allow me to live the life that I do today.
And as I celebrate living in a free land, I also celebrate the ultimate freedom afforded me by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was crucified, buried, and rose again the third day to grant me the gift of salvation.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
