Just Like America!
On this, our country’s 250th birthday, I marvel how few edifices ever built have captured the essence of its people, history, and national resilience quite like a lighthouse.
For lighthouses are majestic and steadfast. They stand in the gap during times of storm and trouble. But most of all, lighthouses represent the best of the human spirit.
Just like America!
These timeless sentinels – a handful that even predate America’s independence, also guide, protect, and bring hearts nearer. They present the gift of welcomeness too.
Lighthouses care not about a person’s race, creed, or flag. They simply share their beams ablaze without plea, unconditionally each and every night.
Just like America!
Yet, what is a lighthouse without its light aglow? This inextinguishable radiance is the very heart of a lighthouse. It points the way and beckons us with alluring charm.
Aloft and shining bright, light embodies our nation’s great heritage – while reflecting the values and empathy of a diverse peoples holding hands as one.
Just like America!
Everything we stand for and achieve as a nation is underpinned by 250 years of a rock-solid belief in the American dream, which still emanates from a freedom-seeking soul.
Though we have ascended from a proud past, replete with selfless sacrifices and high-flying aspirations carried upon the wings of an eagle, we never settle.
Just like America!
When I look deep into the eyes of a guiding light, I see more than the longstanding history and prosperity of a nation. So much more.
Yes, lighthouses were deemed of utmost importance by our first Congress, but not for one day have lighthouses ever lived in the past.
Just like America!
You see, no matter how far back lighthouses go in the United States, these sentinels of prudent counsel and benevolence have always presided over the moment at hand.
For this is where lighthouses are needed – in the present where moments wait to unfold in to a future yet lived, a future full of promise.
Just like America!
Want proof? I recently stood in the lantern of Cape Elizabeth Light – a guardian that has captured the hearts of many, from Edward Hopper to maybe even you.
It was here, peering down into a legacy optic agleam, that I realized how light can reflect shimmering glory and still, cease not in its vigilance to go forth with a spirit of helpfulness.
Just like America!
Happy 250th Birthday to the United States! Let freedom ring – just like it did in 1776, and may lighthouses continue to help show us the way to a brighter tomorrow.
God bless America and thank God for all who selflessly serve in the Coast Guard and our lighthouse keepers