from sea to shining sea

I lived in Germany for 18 months when I was newly married. We lived on the main floor of a house in a little town called Asperg, not far from Coffee Casserne where my husband was stationed in the army. An Englishman lived in the basement apartment and our landlord, his wife and adult son lived in the top two floors. Our balcony looked out over lovely gardens and just the other side of the bridge over the train tracks were the charming shops of downtown. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the German culture and people. Armed Forces Radio was an important link to my homeland as were my friends from church. I kept in touch with family through letters, no e-mail back then and it was much too expensive to have a phone.

I don’t remember being homesick, a new baby kept me busy, until Independence Day. In church we sang “America the Beautiful”. As I sang the words to that beautiful tribute, all the longing I had for home came to the surface in overwhelming gratitude for our great nation. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of the tremendous blessing it is to be American. When we finally moved back to the states I was filled with peace and security, a measure of which I had been without while on foreign soil.

I thank God every day that I live here; I thank him for those valiant souls who paid the price for our freedoms; and I hope I never take these blessings for granted. Still, when I hear that song, my heart swells with humble gratitude for this nation. I hope we each as citizens can, in word and deed, “crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea”.