Happy Independence Day!

The room was hot and sticky. Flies entered through the open windows and landed on the necks of the delegates. None of the men seemed to care. It was July 4^th, 1776, and thirty-four of fifty-six delegates had gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence. Their eyes were fixed upon John Hancock, seated at the front of the room. As he read the last sentence, each delegate seemed to repeat it to himself. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance upon divine Providence, we mutually pledge together our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” Hancock laid the paper down carefully in front of him. For one moment, everyone was still. Crickets chirped outside the building. Then reaching for a pen, John Hancock slowly stood up, walked to the front of the table, and affixed his signature, large and bold, in the center of that precious document, though he knew it was like signing his own death warrant. After signing, he loudly exclaimed “There! Now King George can read my signature and not even need his spectacles!” Each of the other men stood and came forward to sign. On August 2^nd, 1776 the rest of the delegates who were absent in July signed their names to that document, and the course of a nation was set!

I am so thankful for these brave men, and the others who sacrificed so much, including their very lives, so that "Millions yet unborn" might be free. Happy Independence Day!