Restoring Honor

At midday on Friday, 8/27, four (4) buses in mid-Missouri embarked upon a trek halfway across the nation to attend the 8/28 ‘Restoring Honor’ event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. Riders from central Kansas, metro Kansas City, Tulsa, OK, Omaha, NE, and around the state of Missouri gathered in Columbia, MO, to participate in a defining event for all attendees and the nation.

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What a grand couple of days. While I attended the event, the magnitude of the crowd made finding a spot to capture the memorable moments and messages from the podium a challenge, and drove me to look at the event from a different perspective. Fortunately, the wife of a new friend from our group recorded the event, so I will be able to see what I missed from the stage as I embarked upon my new mission. I have attended professional and major college sports for almost 50 years, and Primerica conventions for 20 years. The Primerica conventions bring up to 45,000 people together from Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe and the United States on a common mission, seeking to impact families in a uniquely positive way. I have never been a participant in something of the magnitude of the ‘8/28 Restoring Honor event,’ in numbers of attendees, or the possibilities of favorable impact for our nation. There were whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Indians (from India), Pakistanis, etc. There were couples, singles, and parents with children, grandparents and great-grandparents. There were people of virtually all faiths in attendance. There were civilians, and members and veterans of all branches of our military. There were those who are healthy and those who are feeble, and every type of person in between. No union or government money was used to fund the expenses of attendees at the event; people paid their own way. We as a group probably did more with private money to stimulate the economies of touring bus companies, airlines, hotels and restaurants over 3 to 6 days of travel than has been realized since the inception of this administration! There were people from all states, and visitors to our country, witnessing something uniquely American. Surely, there were some Democrats in attendance, because not every Democrat has his/her hand out, in our pockets, or head in the sand. There were Republicans, but most of these were of a new breed. Many may be Tea Party members, but many are also ‘Independents’ in spirit, even if they are registered as Republicans. All are seeking individual leaders to represent us, not slaves to a party machine! The camaraderie and good will exhibited by virtually everyone was inspiring. It was a day that all of the differences were put on the shelf; it was like the world’s largest picnic, minus the food, ants and flies! We gathered to focus upon the whole of our country, not only those of privilege by association. It is a trite phrase, but it is true … ‘UNITED we Stand, DIVIDED we Fall.’ The Michele Bachmann rally following the 8/28 event was the perfect ‘curly-cue topping’ of a soft-serve ice cream cone that delivered a strong flavor for peace, unity and representative government. Many people live their lives in fear of their own shadows, but, for a few who are leaders, they live in fear of being overshadowed. We need to swell the numbers of those who choose not to be overshadowed, especially outsiders to the Washington, D. C. meat-grinder of people of character, and sound solutions. As human beings, we must reach out to our Maker, seeking His divine love and explosive blessings. We also have a responsibility to step out from the shadows to lead in rescuing our country from the malaise visited upon us by amongst the weakest pool of individuals in any society, politicians. After an opportunity to refresh ourselves with showers and dinner Saturday night, everyone is spry this morning as we prepare to return home. We have come together in a very short period of time! Some have worked through some minor hiccups along the way, and we have all made new friends, exchanged business cards and e-mail addresses, and offered up parts of ourselves normally shared only with family and longtime friends. Not everyone can be a Glenn Beck, etc., on the big stage, but we can be ourselves in ascending to the highest stage possible, taking responsibility for ourselves. Once we have done what we can, and what we expect from our leaders (elected, appointed and otherwise), only then can we hold others accountable for their actions. Because time is of-the-essence, we must cleanse our spirits immediately to make room for the explosive miracles we need to rescue ourselves individually, and our country as the ‘United’ States of America. Let’s make the Lord’s word the foundation upon which we base our lives and invite His blessings upon us anew!