The following phrases from the song are so profound I MUST quote them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe longed to see the roses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 But never felt the thorns<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And bought our pretty crowns<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But never paid the price\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t count on suffering<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t count on pain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if there are blessings in the valley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in the river I will wait\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OH MY GOSH!!! Do you see what I see??? This is AMERICA today!!! Martin Smith is speaking to America!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I truly believe that much of the world \u2013 whose people and cities and stories go back thousands of years before ours \u2013 are sitting back and listening to our country\u2019s whining and just shaking their heads. Places like Iraq, where the Biblical Tigris and Euphrates flow through it\u2019s center, or Syria, where the capital Damascus is mentioned in Genesis, or Egypt, where Joseph and Mary fled to with baby Jesus \u2013 yes, places like that are like our wise old great-great-great-grandfathers looking at the \u201cbarely formed\u201d America and thinking, \u201cYes, America, you immature teenager you, there IS suffering in this life. You have known great prosperity but it will not and cannot last forever. Suffering will come and it will go. Again and again and again. And when you are an old grandfather like me, you will come to understand that you can\u2019t only have the roses and never know the thorns. You can\u2019t have pretty crowns and never pay the price. Hang in there, America. You\u2019ll understand someday. You\u2019ve been on waaaaaaay too long of an enchanted journey so reality is gonna bite. But it is in that reality where you will find that which really matters. And (spoiler alert) it isn\u2019t in having the biggest military, or being the strongest and richest country in the world, or even the most powerful and influential. No, even if you were to lose all those things and all that status, you could still be a great nation \u2013 but only if God finds you in the river waiting there for Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may think<\/em> America has fallen on \u201chard times\u201d and we may think<\/em> that things are ramping up to some kind of cataclysmic fall, but the truth is, we don\u2019t even have a clue what hard times are. What we\u2019re experiencing now? It\u2019s barely a tickle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We once heard a princess from Burundi speak at our church. It was her first visit to America so she asked if she could begin her learning and understanding of our country by seeing America\u2019s poor people. Her host picked her up at Chicago O\u2019Hare and knew exactly where to take her \u2013 the housing projects of Chicago\u2019s south side. There are not many, if any, poorer huddled masses in America. When they arrived she asked, \u201cWhat are those buildings?\u201d Her host, thinking she must be devastated by the blown out windows, the fire scorched brick, the bullet holes peppering the exterior, said, \u201cThat is where the poor people live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then she asked, \u201cWhat are those structures out front?\u201d Her host, again, thought she must be so sad to see garbage strewn everywhere in the dilapidated playground surrounded by broken fencing. His eyes met hers studying the basketball court with no hoop, two garbage dumpsters tipped upside down, four black men playing cards on a cardboard box while perched on buckets, and two separate gangs of fierce-looking youth hanging out in the perimeter, so he knowingly replied, \u201cYes, that is supposed to be the playground for the poor people\u2019s children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next she asked, \u201cAnd how about those cars?\u201d Again, her host, assuming her pain as she gazed at the line of rusted out, old model cars with barely any hubcaps, missing tires, blown out windows, and some even burned down to a crispy shell of metal, replied, \u201cI know. It\u2019s so sad. Those are the cars of the poor people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, she asked, \u201cThis is where the poor people live?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d her host said sadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, the princess looked over at her host and replied in her heavy Burundian accent, \u201cAmerica does not have poor people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you see it??? Do you see who America is to the rest of the world??? A spoiled teenager. We long<\/em> to see the roses, but we\u2019ve never felt the thorns. We want <\/em>our pretty crowns but we don\u2019t want to pay the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believe the pandemic mayhem, the racial tension and political division resulting in a time of historically high hate levels is really just the thorns. We\u2019ve had a lot of roses, America. Despite two world wars, a brutal Civil War and, according to most accounts, over 100 smaller wars, still, America has collectively never known the hardships experienced elsewhere in the world \u2013 we just haven\u2019t been around long enough to know the same extent of suffering. We\u2019ve never known hunger to the same extent as the developing world. We\u2019ve never known the depth of violence, poverty, persecution, oppression or civil unrest as much of the world experiences as \u201ceveryday life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how we come out of this mess, if we (believers in Christ) stay in the river and keep our eyes focused on Jesus and believe that He alone is all that matters, we will indeed find blessings in the valley. It does not matter if we come out on top. In fact, it\u2019s often best if we don\u2019t. If we are no longer the \u201cgreatest\u201d or \u201cmost powerful\u201d country it\u2019s still going to be okay. If we lose our 401k\u2019s or our homes or our cars or our jobs or even our health, we\u2019re still going to be okay. Because, at the end of days, those are not the things that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What matters in this crisis is that we live and love like Jesus. We must come together in unity, and bear one another\u2019s burdens and open our homes to those who have lost theirs. We must feed those who can\u2019t afford to buy food. We must reduce our spending so we can assist those who have lost jobs. We must reach out to those who are being forgotten, trampled, hurt, and afraid. We must rise above our differences and show love to everyone \u2013 even those who see the world differently than us. Scripture\u2019s quite clear on what it is that we are to DO, both in times of plenty and in times of great need: love the weak, the poor, the oppressed, and defend the cause of the orphan, the widow, and the alien in our midst. And right up there with loving the Lord Our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is loving our neighbor as ourselves. That means ALL the neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s okay, America, if this is a hard season. This is only the thorns \u2013 and we haven\u2019t experienced many. And it is only in the thorns that we discover the true beauty of the roses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps America does not yet know just how beautiful the roses are and just how rich a crown she wears. Perhaps that is why she is now suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last movie we saw before that devilish virus shut down all the theatres was \u201cI Still Believe.\u201d I\u2019m still not sure if it was KJ Apa\u2019s impish little grin or the story line that made me so emotional and bawl like a baby. Either way \u2013 the film is incredible and if you love […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,33],"tags":[48,58,61,76,80,85,89,95],"yoast_head":"\n