This is my country

Every four years I’m reminded, during the Olympics, that I am no athlete. I am, however, inspired by the dedication and commitment of the world’s best.

Yesterday I was sitting in the bleachers at my local ice rink watching two of my girls maneuver their way around the ice. Both are just beginning what I hope will be a love of ice skating. Watching their faces I knew they take after their mother. Nancie is the figure skater in our family.

As I watched the girls I realized that my excitement for the Olympics is for more than just the individual sports. Anyone who knows me knows that sports are a low priority in my life. But patriotism is not. My heart leaps inside with every American win, not just for the success of the athlete, but for what the athlete represents: the United States of America. It’s hard to hold back the feelings you have when you hear the national anthem or see the American flag. It is this deep sense of American pride that I feel inside that almost brings me to tears.

To me one simple definition of patriotism is love of country. This is my country land that I love. And America is something to celebrate.

Our calendars are filled with many holidays to celebrate. Many of these holidays can be placed into three major categories. There are religious holidays, like Christmas and Easter. There are family holidays like, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day, and birthdays. But there are also the patriotic holidays like Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day.

Although the Olympics aren't really a holiday, the two weeks of festivities kind of feels like it. What all the holidays on my list have in common is how I feel when I celebrate them. The three categories really represent three major things in my life: God, Family, and Country. They represent my faith, my family and my freedom. And oh how I love all three.

Across the world feelings of love for Deity, Family, and Liberty are losing ground to meaningless secularism. The warmth that comes from the fire within regarding these three powerful forces in our lives is slowly going cold.

Like the Olympic torch bearers that cross the globe each Olympiad, we pass down the fire to our children. How they feel about God, family and country, is usually established by how we feel. Are these big three still the Gold Silver and Bronze of our lives or have we given up on them a long time ago?

Love is real. It is something you feel. Feelings of love for God, family and country can grow into an all encompassing flame. We just need to capture the feeling and never let the light within go dim.