Exodus 33:3 “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey…”

This has been a week of celebrations: a birthday, my children’s wedding anniversary and a day which is especially meaningful to me – the day my family came to the United States.

It was May 22, 1950. As our ship the Queen Mary approached the shores of America, we saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. The ship rounded her as it pulled into New York harbor, but my family kept looking and pointing to the Statue excitedly. They had finally arrived in the land which promised them hope, a new life, dreams to be attained. Having left everything they once knew behind them,   my parents, my brother Joe and I started to live all over.

I don’t remember very much about our arrival. I was young and have very few memories of my early childhood so I can only conjecture what it was like. But I have several black and white photographs of us standing at the rail of the Queen Mary, the wind blowing hard off the Atlantic Ocean and the Statue of Liberty in the background. We were immigrants coming to the Promised Land of America – and the Statue of Liberty was there to welcome us.

The photos still   move me a lot.  They remind me, of course, of my family – my parents, my older brother Joe, all of whom are now gone. They remind me of a much more innocent and hopeful era, when it was possible to leave evil times behind and look forward only to the good. Mostly, I am reminded how God did bless us, how we found refuge “in the shadow of His wings” and were allowed  to prosper in this land of blessedness.

My parents always referred to this country as “America”, not as the United States. This could be simply because in German, die Vereinigten Staaten was just too much of a mouthful to say. However, I believe that the very word “America “ was then a powerful word image for people who lost everything and arrived at its shores to begin again. It is the country conceptualized in the song “America the Beautiful” and of course in “God, Bless America.”

I have to admit that I have never been a super patriot. My wariness and reluctance stems from knowing first hand the evils arising out of extremist and racist patriotism. But then May 22 comes around again. I see that beautiful statue in New York harbor in the background as my mother held me in her arms. God reminds me that it was for His purpose that we came to America.  If He’s blessed us with “the good life , the American dream”, that also has a purpose–  to give Him daily thanks for His goodness. Simply put, we were brought to this country in order to glorify God.

Exodus 33: 5 “… Now therefore take off your ornaments that I may know what to do to you. 33: 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

The  post 911 skyline of New York  is very different now and there are those who would probably do violence to  the Statue of Liberty also.  The greater violence  is  to the  Spirit because  post modern culture  no  longer has faith in God or America and   has become a “stiff-necked people, ”   dressed up in ungodly ornaments.  Nevertheless, the God in “God, bless America”  reigns  as He always has.  There is still milk and honey flowing to America’s shores from His hand, as it did for my immigrant family. What is required now is to heed God’s   ancient warning before it is too late, before the flow ceases.

EAG