Family Fourth

 

The Fourth of July is a day of traditions, a day of fireworks and parades and barbecues and concerts, a day which celebrates the courage of those who fought for independence.

Independence Day may be a federal holiday on our calendar, but it’s also a pause in our life to reflect on what’s important to our country and the courage it took to make that happen hundreds of years ago.

We didn’t see any fireworks this year on the Fourth of July nor did we watch a parade or attend a concert or eat any barbecue; instead, our lives were lit up by family.

And this snapshot of our sons, Reid and Will, and their cousin Jen captures it all.

Three cousins. Walking and talking and laughing. Enjoying being together.  

And even though it was exciting to pass Troy Aikman jogging on the Katy Trail, the green-canopied path that runs through the Uptown and Oak Lawn areas of Dallas, the memory that will remain with me is this picture of family for it represents the encouragement we give each other.

Family who stands by us and walks with us at times when courage is needed and at times to celebrate the courage of others.

Once when the Apostle Paul was faced with a dangerous crowd, who looked like they were going to tear him to pieces, the Lord stood and said to Paul,  “Take courage!” (Acts 23:11 NIV). Later Paul encouraged Timothy, who was like family, by sharing his experiences with him.

And Paul leaves us with yet another beautiful picture of the Lord coming to our side, standing by us, giving us encouragement to live our lives courageously. The Lord came to Paul, who shared with Timothy, who shares with us. And then we go and stand by someone else, encouraging that person. And as we walk and talk and stand by each other, encouraging each other, the Lord is right there with us. To me, that’s a picture of family.

Undoubtedly our founding fathers were brave, convicted, heroic men who stood together and encouraged each other. Today, courage spreads like the fireworks that light up the sky on the Fourth of July. Friends and family encouraging each other, sharing that spirit that enables us to look up and face difficulties and dangers and to act bravely. A picture of courage at its best.

“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said,

“Take courage”

(Acts 23:11a NIV).

“But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength”

(2 Timothy 4:17a NIV).

It Could Have Been Any Field!

 (Photo Credit  -- Valley of Elah -- by Reid Bader)

"It could have been any field, anywhere, just like out here,” and Reid waved his arm in the direction of our back pasture. “There were no tourists, no signs, no markers to designate that anything special had happened. It was simply a field like any other.” 

Yet the field Reid stood on was a special spot for it was the place where a fearless young shepherd named David picked up five stones and fought a boastful, nearly 10-ft-tall giant named Goliath.  

Our oldest son had returned from a trip to the Holy Land, and I asked him that morning, as he whisked through our house, to share one moment he remembered from his latest travels.

That was the moment he shared.

And it’s a moment we’ve read about for thousands of years.

But it could have happened on any field.

A simple remark, a profound thought. For God fights daily on the fertile fields of our lives, too, and we have our own stories to tell. Stories of battles against cancer and victories over fear and struggles with forgiveness and fights against lost hope. Stories that matter. Stories told with raw honesty that encourage others.   

“David said to Saul, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.’”

Like the battles fought on the field of our own lives, our stories, too, can help others not to lose heart when faced with tough times.  

David’s story still encourages me today. Ours can do the same for someone else.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

 ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him (50).

1 Samuel 17