Early July, I did something I had never done before.   All my daughter wanted for her birthday was a trip with mom to the beach.

Everything in planning the trip felt unsettled, unsafe.  Not only was Covid-19 still causing shut downs, but many people returning from the beach were coming down with it.  In addition, a few weeks before leaving riots began riveting our country.

So to say the least, I felt on edge, and though I wanted to spend this special time with my girl, I was nervous.

As I prayed, the Holy Spirit kept telling me, “Lean back into me and have fun anyway.”  Sometimes, I feel He wants us to be like the Israelites, trust Him by dancing with praise in the face of the enemy.

The first place we arrived was a state park where a lighthouse stood like a pillar of strength with an huge American flag draped around it, evidently left over from Independence Day celebrations.  Directly beyond that, the soft sand and crystal waters of the beach beckoned us.

My daughter and I sauntered past the lighthouse forging our way to the beach.  Immediately, we went for the water to cool off in the hot summer sun.  Within a few minutes, I turned back to face the lighthouse from the view of the beach.  Dark, black storm clouds gathered around it, while gales of wind whipped the flag high into the air.

Over the crash of the waves, I heard the voice of my heavenly Father begin to speak.  These are the words as closely as I remember hearing them:

“Daughter, my people are like the lighthouse.  You are built deep on an extremely strong rock.  Without that foundation the lighthouse would quickly be swept out to sea in a storm, but it will not be shaken, even in a hurricane, because it is firmly sealed, firmly planted on an extremely solid foundation of rock.  It cannot be moved, because of the rock it is established on.  So don’t be afraid of the storms.  They may swirl all around you, but you will not be shaken.”  (The “you” felt like “you all”, meaning not just for me personally.)

Then the tone shifted a little, to where I knew He was addressing an even larger group, our country as a whole.

“Your country is still built on Me, God, though there have been things from the founding of it that have needed to changed.  As long as your country stays on the Rock, it will never be fully shaken, no matter what storms may come.  My light, the light of Jesus Christ will be re-lit in this country again to guide those home who are lost.  I am not done with the United States of America.  If this country will turn back to me, and remain on me, the Rock, it will withstand the storms, and my light will burn brightly again.  She will become the beacon to the nations again, leading others into a safe harbor.”

May we, as a country, remain on the foundation of “In God we trust”, and may we return to Jesus.  Holy Spirit, please relight the flame!