God Bless America

I still get very upset when I’m rudely cut off on the road while driving.  In the car to myself I yell, “The whole world is angry, not just you!”  As much as we don’t want to admit it, we are an angry society we need to control our anger. But what infuriates me most is people who insist on bringing the sins of their  ancestors back to life. They dig up the graves to expose the sins of their forefathers. I’ll use myself as an example. According to Ancestry.com, my blood runs deep in Mexican culture. My ancestors believed in the practice of human sacrifices. No one did anything about this back then, and certainly this will always remain a part of our dark history. I look beyond this part of history because at that time people were not ruled by kings or dictators; their leaders were considered gods, and false gods are always exposed.

Mexico

On our first visit to Mexico City, I purchased souvenirs for everyone, including their dogs. I’m a huge enthusiast of souvenirs, and I love to shop so much that I needed to purchase an additional  suitcase for all my novel goods. I came back with an Aztec calendar, and a ceramic statue of Chac Mool, and as many figurines as I could pack. This was during the time when I was getting my toes wet in the “Born Again”movement. I remember proudly displaying my beautiful Aztec calendar when one of my Christian friends approached me with the thought that these items were demonic. In reality, when you look at the Aztec calendar, it does not at all have anything that remotely represents God, it does resemble what we would imagine the Devil to look like. But I was a wishy washy Catholic who came into this new religion wide-eyed and ready to believe anything. I talked to our new pastor’s wife, and she gently explained that I was inviting evil spirits into my house by having these ungodly idols. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint God, so I took my beautiful Aztec calendar and not only threw it into the trash, I took an ax to it to make sure that no one would suffer from its evil spirits. I was carefully and lovingly being transformed into a Catholic-bashing Christian.

My Christian encounter took so many turns; leaving one church to find a better one was the norm. I wanted to grow in God, so attending meetings until 11 p.m. was not a problem. Mike was not at all on board with my hasty Christian flip flopping on churches, so he would have nothing to do with my crazy antics. I, on the other hand, could not see anything beyond the next church meeting, Looking back on those days of my journey, one could surmise that I crossed into the fanatical side of the Holy Rollers society.

God’s In Control

My faith was firm and my direction was set to enter into the Pearly Gates, but I was not going alone. I felt that I had received a mandate from God to witness to any poor soul who crossed my path. We still had our business, so on Fridays I would conduct Bible studies for the drivers. They were tired, but I knew how to keep them there for an extra hour by ordering pizzas. I did make a difference in people’s lives, but I can assure you that I offended many. I was naive, but I believed with all my heart  that I was doing God’s work.

Since I was in charge of Human Resources, that job title included meeting with the insurance companies as well. I had a meeting with the insurance agent in regards to Workers’ Compensation. Of course I was not going to lose the opportunity to win the agent over to Christ. But something beautiful was about to take place. The man started sharing about his family, then he broke down in tears. A few weeks earlier his wife, a Yoga instructor who was in perfect health, suddenly died . She suffered from a massive aneurysm and never made it to the hospital. The agent was left with four daughters, two of which were twins. He knew nothing about God, and rarely attended any church services. I prayed with him and told him about a megachurch near his home in Riverside. I continued to pray for him, and months later he told me that he had become a member of this church. I could see the joy of the Lord on his face. I know that the Lord used me to lead this man to Him. Years later I ran into him again; this time he shared with me that he was a team leader at that church. I made a few mistakes along this rocky path but I learned a few good lessons on how to allow the Holy Spirit to work in my life.

I have second thoughts about my Aztec calendar: now I regret that I got rid of it. My ancestors were geniuses, and their contributions to science and mathematics are still being used today. Granted they did sacrifice thousands of people during their great celebrations, but God intervened and introduced a new religion: Catholicism. We can uncover a multitude of sins from our forefathers, but unless it teaches us a lesson of growth and love it has no value. If we as a society continue to criticize the pain and suffering caused by our ancestors, it will only lead to anger and hate. Healing always takes place in the heart, and we must learn to forgive over and over again. One more observation, quit sticking your nose in other people’s ancestors, this is not a contagious disease, so don’t criticize a culture you don’t understand.

As we celebrate another year of freedom in this beautiful country we call home, I thank You, Lord, for allowing America to be a free country.  I pray for every citizen, present and future, that we would all honor and respect our God given-rights. We are all foreigners until we reach our final destination, so until that day arrives make us good citizens and loving neighbors. God Bless America!

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