Happy 4th of July!

Today, I hope you are able to spend time with people you love and who love you. I am grateful to live in a country where freedom is celebrated and cherished. My parents and I migrated to America back in the 70s, because someone offered them an opportunity for a better life.

While life hasn’t always been smooth and far from perfect, I happily became an official American citizen in 2022, after years of living and working here as a Permanent Resident. I am proud of my legal and lawful immigration story.

We don’t live in a perfect world or even a perfect nation. But, my experience has repeatedly taught me that there is no place on the planet that you can find the opportunity and enjoy the freedom we have here in America. Yes, there have been atrocities—like slavery—and afflictions—women being treated like secondary citizens and people of color being treated as non-human.

Psalm 22:27 ESV

All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.

World History is littered with stories of oppression, discrimination, and violence. The people who first came to the place that would become America sought a better life than they had come to know. There were mistakes along the way. As is true in life, we’ve learned from our failures. Time and time again, Americans have overcome the challenges that have faced them. We have civil and equal rights. As citizens, we can all vote once we turn 18. We are blessed with inalienable rights. We are free to disagree and speak our mind.

Today, America stands as the beacon of freedom and opportunity. We are a nation built on the sweat and sacrifice of heroes from all walks of life and every ethnicity. That’s something to celebrate!

Make no mistake, America is the greatest country on the planet. I am very proud and extremely happy to be an American celebrating the 4th of July.

Until my next post…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™