Look Back.... | Shirley Mozena Speaker and Author

I couldn’t resist posting some of the history of our nation–and some patriotic colored fruit.

: Seal on carpet in dining room. The rug weighs 8,000 pounds

: Sign outside of State Department Building

: President Lincoln, larger than life.

: Washington Monument seen from the Lincoln Memorial

: Always moving to see the many names. The families affected by the deaths of each name. So sad.

: Honoring soldier from Vietnam Era War

: Walking along Constitution Avenue, we could see the White House in the distance. US Capitol Building

: US Capitol Building

: The Supreme Court Building. At the top, in the center is Moses.

: Senate Chambers in Philadelphia

: Independence Hall

: Liberty Bell

I read an article by David McCullough, writer of several historical tomes. In the article, there were reminders for us. Here’s what stood out to me:

Look back at history. Ours and even further back.

He reminded me of some of our history. Did you know in 1776 there was no bank in the Colonies? There was only one bridge between New York and Boston? The population was only 2,500,000. And yes, 500,000 of them were slaves. He reminded us we live in a dark and dangerous time. But that we have always lived in dark times. 1776 was dark.

1941. Another dark time was when we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. During that time, oil tankers were being sunk off the coast of Florida and New Jersey by the Germans. Our recruits were drilling with wooden rifles. We had no air force, and half of our navy had been destroyed. There were no guarantees we could defeat Hitler and his ravenous appetite for power.The article reminded me that we often live in precarious time https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/knowing-history-and-knowing-who-we-are/?fbclid=IwAR2kwb1w4bUVkRQ-k_fRaPs3H9ZzExkfyRn5x_k5j1RAFiCQjDTKm5FTEyg

1857, was another precarious time. A financial crash had shaken the money centers of the world. Wall Street floundered. The slavery issue divided the North and the South, Irish and German immigration flooded the labor markets, and interest in religion was at its lowest point in decades. Then a layman, Jeremiah Lanphier, began a noonday prayer meeting in New York City. The idea spread. Then came a national revival. Within the next two years between five hundred thousand and one million people were converted to Christ. How do you pray for your country? Do you ask God to intervene? ( One Year Book of Psalms, by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen).

We don’t know our country’s future. I don’t know what’s ahead in my life and neither do you. But we know Whom we can trust in our precarious times that have always been precarious. At the birth of our nation. During the Civil War. World War II. In the present.

Asaph, the writer from the Psalms prayed:

Help us, O God of our salvation!

Help us for the honor of your name.

Oh, save us and forgive our sins

for the sake of your name.

Psalm 79:9

They prayed long ago. Will you join me in praying for our nation?