It’s no secret that I’m really soft hearted, and it doesn’t take much to
choke me up. Chick Flicks pretty much do
it all the time, sweet things my daughter or grandchildren say, and a deceased
animal on the side of the road will do it every time. Every version ever filmed of Little House On
The Prairie, about half the episodes of Private Practice, and hundreds of books
I’ve read. Publix commercials. And those
Proud Mom moments like awards ceremonies, outstanding band moments, graduations
and a wedding. Witnessing the birth of
my grandchildren. Those are understandable.
Lots of other folks would admit to similar experiences. Then there are those really dumb things like
watching the Mickey Mouse parade come down the street at Disney World. Fireworks over the lake on the 4th
of July.
A few weeks ago I attended the final night of VBS, where the
kids “perform” for the adults, receive their awards, eat hot dogs, and pick up
their arts and crafts projects to carry home.
They go through the assembly service like every other night. Part of the routine is saying The
Pledges: to the American Flag, the
Christian Flag, and to the Bible. As
soon as I placed my hand over my heart, and said the words “I pledge allegiance”,
the lump formed in the back of my throat, and my voice refused to work. To my horror, my chin quivered a time or two,
and I felt the telltale burning in my eyelids, which warned me that my eyes
would soon be filling. I quickly
recomposed myself, and mouthed the remaining words. Not much better with the pledge to the
Christian flag. I think I was finally
able to squeak out the last few words to the Bible pledge. I was really happy nobody was sitting near me.
For years, at a ballgame or church service, (or wherever it
might be played/sung) The Star Spangled
Banner has always brought a lump to my throat.
Depending on my surroundings, I can usually recover enough to sing about
the last half of it. Sometimes there is
no recovery, and I either just fake it, try to squeak through it, or sometimes simply just listen and
reflect.
When I was a kid, we said the Pledge every day at school,
and I was unmoved. Was it that I was
callous to it, or just recited it so much that it became meaningless?
Today in church we did the pledge thing again. Same story.
Here come the lumps. The burning
eyelids. The squeaky voice (or none at
all). We sang the America The Beautiful,
and Battle Hymn of the Republic. Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! (and it wasn’t the Bulldog fight-song
version!!). Well, the more truthful statement
would be that “everyone else sang”. I
just squeaked, or didn’t even try. The pastor’s wife and daughter sang a
riveting tune of sacrifice, liberty, and freedom.
With July 4th only a few days away, Liberty,
Freedom, and Sacrifice are close in our thoughts, and paying homage to our flag
and our country seemed the appropriate thing to do. After church there was barbecue lunch, with
all the sides and desserts you could imagine.
On the drive home, I was thinking that sometimes it’s really annoying to
get so choked up during anything patriotic.
It can be downright embarrassing.
I realized two things. One thing is clearly evident – I/we don’t do
it near enough.
But the other thing is – if I did it more often, would I become
like the school kid who just does it as a mundane part of my day? A recitation of words that don’t mean
anything? May it never be.
Though I do wish I/we did it more often, I hope the time never comes
when pledging allegiance to my country (even with all her faults), and to my
God, would fail to bring a sting to my eyes and a lump to my throat. I don’t think the founding fathers of our
nation, or any subsequent American Soldier would mind at all. And I’m fairly certain God doesn’t mind
either.
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