A Declaration of Independence

The fourth of July is a celebration of this country’s “Declaration of Independence.” Often referred to as the birthday of our country, it’s a time when we declared our independence from Great Britain and started down the road to becoming an independent nation. There would be many trials, tribulations and sorrows before our young country, as well as joys and wonders of our new freedom.

Let’s take a moment as we celebrate our country’s independence and think about how this declaration of independence is going on in families all over this country. Teens everywhere are struggling to know the joy of their independence. Our teens are sure they are ready to become their own country – and we are, a bit like Great Britain – sure they don’t have a clue what they are doing. As we imagine the joy of our country’s founders as they walked into their freedom, we need to remember what our teens feel like as they begin to try their wings. As Kris Kristofferson reminds us in his song “The Burden of Freedom”