THERE SHE STANDS

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In 1917, the CHEERLEADER'S Great-Grandparents arrived at Ellis Island, from Walter, Russia, with one young daughter (they had another daughter, the oldest, who passed away in Russia before coming to America).  They also came with dreams of a better life, and each other (they eventually had 6 more daughters born in the United States).

What it must have been like to reach the New York Harbor and see Her.

THERE SHE STANDS.

So much promise.

I remember the first time that I saw Her live.  WOW!

What that Statue represents.  I was moved, emotionally.

I have had the opportunity to see Her multiple times over the last decade, and each time, I feel moved.

Today, we would like to think those ideals of a promise for a better life are still present.  

The Land of Opportunity!  Or is it?

I think it is....but I also think we have work to do.

Today, I was at a luncheon of business and church leaders discussing the topic of diversity. 

If we continue to live with a "mono-ethnic" mindset, we are going to miss out on the beauty that our Creator intended.  

Take the picture above.  Not sure if you have ever been to New York City, but it is truly a "melting pot" of diversity.  Just go one city block and you'll hear multiple languages being spoken.  You can get any type of food not named HOTDOG, HAMBURGER or PIZZA, and many times from a vendor or a food truck right on the street.  To me, NYC is an earthly picture or what Heaven must look like.

Revelation 7:9-10 [NLT] says, "After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.  The were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.  And they were shouting with a great roar, Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb."

So, get uncomfortable and get intentional with others, whether it is with those who legally immigrate to this country or those who are born here but might not look like you.

Like the CHEERLEADER, there's a good chance that someone from your family saw Lady Liberty and the hope for a brighter future.  In your BEST YEAR YET, look to be that same beacon of help and hope to others.