Dear America

Dear America,

Let me start by telling you who I am. I am an American citizen who has, my entire life, been proud to be an American. I was raised by a wonderful mother who taught me about patriotism and service to my country. She taught me hard word and personal responsibility. I am a Christian; I believe in a sovereign God who forgives, love, and redeems. I am veteran of the United States Coast Guard; and I am proud of that. I am the proud wife of a United States soldier; I am proud to be married to a man who loves his country and his family enough to be willing to lay down his life, if need be. I am a mom of two very sweet and adorable little girls. I am a college graduate who worked hard for my education; I paid for my education through my service in the military. And lastly, I am distressed.

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

America, I am distressed that our priorities and values have gotten so discombobulated. What has happened to the values that this nation was founded upon? What has happened to the nations love for family and country? What has happened to the base of our government being the constitution? I used to find myself getting angered at the ridiculous decisions our government made, but now, more often than not, I just find myself getting saddened.

As a society, we have messed up priorities. We value the life and entertainment that a professional sports player offers more than the sacrifice that the members of our military offer. We value TV villains more than police officers. We value actors and actresses more than teachers. Why is it that the most important jobs in our society, jobs that are necessary to a functioning society, get paid the least and are the most thankless? When did we, as a nation, quit caring about the things that truly matter?

Proverbs 16:2 – All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.

My husband, a U.S. soldier, wants to go back school and as a service member he should be able to use his tuition assistance and easily have it paid for. But due to budget cuts, the military has cut all funding for tuition assistance until further notice. I know that I can’t be the only one who thinks that, that is absolutely ridiculous. How can we take tuition assistance away from our military and yet we still provide educations in prisons and jails?

What has happened to personal responsibility? Too many of us live with a sense of entitlement; like just because we’re living in breathing we deserve to have everything handed to us without working for it. Why do we think that? Because that’s what our culture and our government have taught us. Our government has said that if we don’t want to work, if just want to sit at home and have an excuse for not providing for our families, that’s okay. Don’t worry about any personal responsibility, it’s not your fault, it’s because of your parents and the way you were raised, it’s because of you grew up in poverty, it’s because your mom didn’t feed you all organic as a kid. We can come up with a excuse for everything, but what it really comes down to is that too many of us fail to take responsibility for our own actions and choices. What we do is no one else’s fault but our own.

Ezekiel 18:20 – The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

I am heartbroken and pensive about how far we have gotten from God. I know that this is a strongly controversial statement, but abortion is wrong. This is the ultimate failure of personal responsibility. My heart is heavy for the millions of women who have believed the lie that abortion was the only option. I am filled with compassion and sorrow for a nation that has been and is still lying to women that abortion will solve all their problems. Whether you want to believe it or not, abortion IS murder. If God is in control of all things and we only have what comes from him, then who are we to say that we have the right to take the life a child that HE created. I don’t really care what the good ol’ scientists say about when life begins. According to God’s Word, life begins at the MOMENT OF CONCEPTION. And who am I to argue with God?

Ecclesiastes 11:5 – As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

Job 31:15 – Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Psalm 139:13-16 – For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Exodus 20:13 – You shall not murder

We believe everything we’re told that abortion doesn’t hurt the woman, abortion is the best thing you can do for an unplanned pregnancy, abortion will solve the “problem” that your choices caused. They wouldn’t really allow something to be legal if it was bad for us, right? Oh how wrong we are. If there is nothing wrong with abortion, then why do women feel trapped in secrecy and shame afterwards? Most women numb themselves to the emotional and mental effects of the abortion because of the basic human need of self-preservation (and they don’t even recognize they’re doing it). Feeling the pain simply hurts too much. There is only One who can heal the pain of an abortion and that is God. It’s hard to believe, at least to me anyway, that He can forgive that, but that’s part of the marvel of Jesus’ death on the cross. All can be forgiven! I’d love to talk more about abortion and its effect on the woman, but this is not the place for that.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Personal responsibility; we’re all looking for a way around dealing with the consequences of our actions and our government is us a “quick fix” for everything. What we fail to understand is that those consequences don’t go away; they just get postponed or pushed into something else.

America was founded on Judeo-Christian values: free will – being free to make our own choices, personal, moral accountability – being responsible for our own choices and actions whether they are good or bad and dealing with the consequences, and a true moral law – which stems from Christ and the Jewish prophets.

Luke 6:46 – Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

It’s heart wrenching to see the state our nation is in now. It saddens me that over half of our children don’t know what a successful marriage looks like. It’s depressing that God has been so far removed from our government and our society that anything related to religion is outlawed or banned. We wonder why or how things could’ve gotten as bad as they are now, and there’s only one answer for that – we refuse to acknowledge God’s sovereignty.

Isaiah 60:12 – For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

Psalm 33:12 – Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

It may not be within my lifetime, but I think that this country, as much as I love it, is headed for self-destruction if we don’t get our focus back where it needs to be – on God.

Joel 2:12 – Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;”

Proverbs 14:34 – Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

I would like to take a minute to note that none of which is written above is to be meant with judgment or anger, but my intention is love and hope. I hope that, one day, our nation will turn back to its foundations – back towards God. I hope that, one day, we will welcome Him back into our country. But until then, I trust Him and His plan for me and my family in the midst of the pain and suffering.

Sincerely,

A Broken Hearted, Jesus Following American