Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Warfare Wednesday: Thanksgiving Edition

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34

I have a child waiting just off my shoulder here, simply dying for the opportunity to use the computer this morning. Lol, I guess I needed some inspiration to get up and get some work done today! But I'm going to try and be quick and brief this morning, because I think it's rather obvious that this week, as we're praying for President Obama and his family, that we should also be thankful for our president, and also thankful for this free country which we are blessed to call home.

We have spent so much time in the last month or so learning about how this country began. While there are some things that are not to be proud of- treatment of the Native Americans for one-but the freedoms that people were trying to escape from in Europe are something we just seem to take for granted these days. Or we aren't taking them for granted- we're not enjoying our freedoms, and we're looking to the examples of other countries instead of looking inwards and looking up. God knows how to make America beautiful again- from the inside out.

We're learned about the pilgrims, fleeing the King and the fact that getting together for a Bible study in their homes was enough to throw them in prison or into the stocks for several days. We've learned about the blessings the Native Americans actually were to those pilgrims, teaching them how to survive in such a wild land. And I think that's one of the things that is forgotten as time goes on. I also think there is still healing to be done between the Native American people and the rest of the country. This morning, as I pray for this country and the Thanksgiving celebrations going on all over the place, I am praying for real peace. I am praying for a great healing among the Native American peoples. My heart breaks for them, as I have learned more about a lot of the horrors the original inhabitants of this nation underwent. But while we can all look back with regret and wish that things had gone differently, we can't go back. We can't go back 300 years and undo all the travesties. But we can move forward. We can move forward in forgiveness and understanding, and we can work together for the good of all.

So this morning I am praying that the First Family will have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving together. I am praying prayers of Thanksgiving for being born in and living in the most wonderful country on the planet, and I am praying that God will have His way with our country. I am also praying for peace for the Native American groups. May they know that God loves them, that He created them as the perfect people they are, and that they do have a purpose here.

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!" 1 Chronicles 16:31

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