IN-DEPENDENCE...

It's time to celebrate the independence of our nation America. It's time to celebrate the work of brave men and women who stood up to an old British regime which treated them unfairly by taxing them to the gills and then demanding more. It's time to remember those who weathered further incursions and threats from other power-hungry nations in the world seeking to further their renown by taking over control. It's time to celebrate our independence. So pass the hot dogs and ketchup and light those fireworks already!

On this independence day, I'm struck by how independence can become a fatal flaw to honor. Don't get me wrong here and dive off into rants about how I might not be a patriot because I question the need of independence. In a culture as individualistic and self-serving as ours, the celebration of independence can quickly turn into a farce.

We are an IN-Dependent nation. I depend on you to pay your taxes, and you depend on me. When we do, governments run, roads are built, police protect us, and water is delivered to us. If we were all on our own, life would look at lot different.

I depend on our troops who stand on the front lines of danger to protect our journey to treat one another equally. Recent politics has shown us how we still treat others unequally. The point is, I depend on troops to allow us to keep trying at this process.

Finally, I depend on God to create the next moment and the moment thereafter, and to give me grace, mercy, and unfailing love. If God stops, it all stops. We don't realize how much God is involved in our lives. The next second is not a guarantee, neither is the one after that. God lets us live in limited/finite freedom where we can become fully developed individuals, but we're not left to live on our own. God is involved, and we depend on God.

Independence day is a day that ought to remind us that we really need each other to make all this work. And this is hard, gut-tearing, uncomfortable work. It means that I may have to let go of my agendas at times in order for us all to enjoy life in a community.

But the point for me is not to have my best life now. The point is how we can have our best life together. That's what an IN-Dependence Day celebration should look like.