Freedom is More than Being Free

Today we set apart in remembrance of the US gaining it's independence from Great Britain.  It is celebrated with family gatherings, backyard barbeque's, firework wonders and songs of patriotism.


I am grateful for those who have gone before me to allow me the life I enjoy today.  I am grateful that I live in a free society with abundant choices and expressions of persons.  I am grateful that I place my head on my pillow each night without the noise of bombs flying overhead.  I am grateful that I can hold a belief in my heart and freely express it on this blog.  I am grateful that I can visit any state in the union, drink from any river I might cross, walk on any mountain path, buy any book I desire, sing any song, listen to any lecture and text anything I think of to any one I choose.


And while I live in a country of extreme privilege,I am overwhelmed with what I have learned from those who don't.  I am taken back by the freedom they experience....

inside a cramped jail cell...

or upper attic hiding place...

or walking a dark road on a black night....

or harvesting a single ear of corn in the parched desert...

or laying their weary body on a pillow-less bed of rubble.







The freedom they express comes not from the land in which they live but from the heart in which they live it.  Nelson Mandela spent 27 years behind bars, imprisoned by those who didn't like his point of view.  When he was released, he began a campaign of forgiveness and unity across his country.  He was elected president and invited anyone into his cabinet who would work towards extending forgiveness instead of revenge.

Corrie ten Boone's family was sent to a concentration camp in 1944.  They suffered countless atrocities at the hand of their captors.  Corrie climbed her way over a pile of dead bodies through a hole in the infirmary to visit her ill sister who later died from the harsh environment of the camp.  Years after Corrie's release she found herself face to face with one of the guards who had enacted violent crimes against them. After an exchanged glance and a heavy silence shared between them, Corrie extended her hand to hold his in a forgiving, "hello, nice to meet you," handshake.

I could fill this post with example after example of this kind of freedom, but I will end it here  for the sake of my readers.

May you be inspired this day by the true freedom of another.  May forgiveness become bigger than revenge and hope larger than despair. I hope you have fun with family and friends.. that you get to eat great barbecue and watch a wonderful fireworks display.  Let freedom ring!