We stayed close to home this year, and enjoyed the company of our neighbors right in Hillsdale, MI for our celebration of the Fourth. Grandpa found a place on a hill to park, and we staked our claim on a spot nearby. We slathered ourselves with Tony’s homemade bug repellent, and waited cautiously: (Coconut oil, a few drops of essential oils, rose geranium, and eucalyptus.) Verdict: Not a single bite!
(This is much better than last year. We tried his homemade catnip repellent, which should have worked, since catnip has a chemical that works much better than DEET in the lab, but that experiment seemed to actually draw the mosquitoes instead of repelling them!)
Stationed behind Johnny T’s by twilight, we enjoyed watching Venus appear as the sky grew darker. (At least, I think it was Venus.) And just before the main event, we heard a young man’s voice, amplified by a loudspeaker, quoting John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The couple next to us cuddled together, watching their sweet, energetic children run down the hill and race back up again. They began talking about the young man with the loudspeaker, and I overheard them.
“He has proverbs all over his car,” the woman said. “It’s the most fun he can have, quoting verses over a loudspeaker.”
“He feels a sense of urgency,” I suggested, and she nodded.
And then it was dark, and we all enjoyed the fireworks, followed by an encore appearance of an old friend, all dressed up in orange for the occasion.
John Adams, in a letter to his wife, Abigail, dated July 3, 1776, wrote this about our independence holiday:
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
Remembering a day of deliverance. Solemn acts of devotion. Illuminations.
The word “illuminations” meant “fireworks,” but those words hover in the air somewhat symbolically in times like these. Much has been revealed, and I feel there is much more to come. Hold onto your hearts, and guard them. Hold onto the Word of God, too. There is peace there, assurance, and rest for your souls. After all, it points to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray to do the same.
The Fullers Four 