This is the day after July 4 celebrations that includes plans of parades, family, cookouts, fireworks, remembering the good ol’ days of when our country was founded on principles that should make us appreciate God, country, mother, and apple pie.

We often hear that those who speak of the good ol’ days forget the hard times. We remember the good things about the beginnings of our freedom but we need to remember the patriotism, courage, fighting, willingness to give one’s life for the freedoms we enjoy. And remember that the spiritual freedom we have came at a cost. That cost was the blood of Jesus who died on the cross so we can have freedom from sin and have eternal life with him.

I often think of the separation of church and state being discussed and too often the implication is that church has no place in decisions being made.

I remember the good ol’ days when I was a child in school. I never heard of separation but got the impression that God and country were united. Each morning we pledged allegiance to the American Flag and the Christian Flag. We memorized verses of scripture and individually quoted them in front of the class. The teachers led us in The Lord’s Prayer. We all went to the auditorium for religious emphasis weeks led by Christians of various denominations. That was public school.

One of my favorite photos is my three-year-old granddaughter running through our yard, waving the American Flag. A favorite memory is when I kept my grandson and at age two I would push him in the swing hanging in the carport and taught him to sing “Jesus Loves Me.” We would go to the post office. I would stand on the sidewalk, holding him, both of us looking up at the American Flag, pledging allegiance.

At my husband’s funeral at the Veteran’s Cemetery, he was honored with a twenty-one gun salute and a folded American Flag. A Christian pastor gave the eulogy and Promise singers sang It Is Well With My Soul. Respect was shown for his life of serving God and country.

Now, granite stones, three-feet high and four-feet wide on which the Ten Commandments are engraved, sit beneath my willow tree in the corner of my front yard. A few houses down the street, a neighbor has his American Flag waving high on a pole. I’ve had to consider if someone should complain about my stones. Does he ever wonder if his flag will have to go? So far, we live in unity. Some people stop and take pictures of Ten Commandments. I’ve seen adults stop and read the words to children. It’s like an accountability partner too—if I’m going to display God’s words I’d better live the life behind them.

I don’t like separation of church and state. I pray for and long for the good ol’ days of togetherness, respect, and unity when I envisioned our nation (our state) “under God.”

Do you have memories of the good ol’ days? Let’s always have hope and prayer for the good new future!