The First American

I once heard a speaker comment on how the most important ancestor you have is the first American. All of my Great-Grand parents were immigrants. Today I am grateful for the sacrifices and faith they had to want more, not just for themselves and their children, but for me as well. I know their stories. Most of my ancestors were Jewish immigrants fleeing the pogroms of Eastern Europe. While they left much behind, they brought with them that which was most important. Their faith in God, themselves, and in each other. The ambivalences most of us feel in our daily lives about where we live and how we spend our time, are luxuries they wanted us to have. They dreamed of us having.

When I first converted to a different faith, it was sometimes difficult to not feel as though I was denying a certain part of my heritage. Being Jewish is so much more than the building you worship in, it is who you are, one of God's chosen people. I now understand the the freedom I enjoy in how and for that matter in Whom I worship is exactly what they wanted for me.

I believe in a life after this one. I know I will be reunited with my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. I also know and am confident in my knowledge that they would want me to embrace my God and my freedoms as I see fit. They also are thrilled to know that despite it's imperfections, my life as an American is still filled with opportunity and freedoms. I believe their sacrifices have directly enabled me to find God's True Church and offer it to those around me. I don't believe you have to be a member of my Church to know God or to be happy, but I am sure that I am happier because of the knowledge I have of God's plan for me, and His love for each of us.

I hope each of us will take a moment of thanks for the first Americans in our families and what they have provided for you.