Today marks our nation’s 250th birthday. I know many of my readers are located in Europe and Canada and on other continents as well, but there’s something meaningful about going back and reading the Declaration of Independence – the document that marked the beginning of our nation. If you have never read it, or if it’s been a while, do yourself a favor and take ten minutes and read it here: https://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-source-collections/primary-source-collections/article/the-declaration-of-independence-july-4-1776?_gl=1*qy4kb5*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxvjRBhC2ARIsAI7KJa2yhbJevarCTNVsB7LGQf1RtDyxe6UNPffFRByxcNyCpuJ_3LC-NMIaAk-KEALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAADye4kEOaW9zgnLebP7CDw8Tzg7Jx

I will admit that it moves me to tears as it is so TRULY AMERICAN: a group of leaders standing up for what they knew was right and willing to fight tyranny in order to have freedom – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many Americans take this for granted. Other Americans have died for our rights to have it. I’ll be the first to agree that our country has been sorely divided, and a house divided against itself cannot stand (*fun fact: often credited to Abraham Lincoln, who said it, it was first said by Jesus Christ in the Gospels). But I believe that from conflict can come unity, and that the principles that our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) believed so strongly in are alive and well today. I look to the future with hope for our country. I am optimistic that the foundations on which this country was built will continue to support us into the future. I have hope and much of that resides in our young people, as they are the future. So happy birthday, America! May the coming years bring peace and harmony, and may you be the beacon of liberty that our founding leaders sought and died for you to be.