America: The Story of Us

If you love history or even if you don't, I have a show for you. It was on last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was called America: The Story of Us and it was on the History Channel. There are 6 episodes in the series I believe and I know they will be rerunning the premiere this week. It was a quick look at the way our country came to be who we are. It's really interesting and fast-paced so it is an easy watch.

Why did I like this so much? Because it made me think about things.

Here are some thoughts I had while watching this show:

1). Good things come to those who are willing to do hard things...to go against the norm.
Imagine being one of the early pioneers at Jamestown. You made the hard 2 month journey to cross the Atlantic and then you reach America only to almost starve to death. You encountered disease and really bad weather. But in the end, those who survived were better off because of what the new world offered. They said that the settlers' next generations were nearly 2 inches taller than the normal Brit and they would have a really good chance of living into later adulthood. So, even though it was hard for those first settlers, they were able to change their family trees. They made a better life for the generations after them. Pretty neat.

2.) Life back then was so different than life today.
I was thinking that the first settlers would be astonished at our lives today compared to the way life was back then. They said that the average settler had 8 children. These children were not bred for the enjoyment, they were bred to be helpers to the family. I'm not saying that this is ideal, but I think a lot of families today have lost sight of teaching their kids to be contributors to life. Their children instead expect things to come to them....without them having to work for things. Back then, if you didn't work, you didn't eat. Plain and simple. This is a challenge to me when I complain about mundane things like housework and cooking. Back then, I'm sure it was way worse! I don't think I would be too good at cooking over a boiling pot of water and a fire!

3). Just because you feel like you are ordinary doesn't mean you can't make a difference.
Paul Revere was an ordinary guy, but he chose to do something hard and be the man who warned all of the militias of Britain's plans. Dangerous...yes. Did he make a difference...absolutely. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. How can I make sure that my life is a life that mattered to someone? A life that had an impact? I'm not sure about this yet, but I just keep trusting that God has a plan for me. I just hope I am open to things even if they are difficult.

4). Be grateful for what you have. We are living the American dream.
Sometimes I catch myself dreaming about what my life would be if I won a million dollars. Life would be so much easier. I would have no worries. I could live the American dream. But really, if I am truly honest, I am living the American dream everyday. I have a beautiful home, a beautiful family, religious freedom, and the ability to make all sorts of choices. How can you improve on that? You really can't. I just need to wake up and be grateful for what I do have. (side note: can you tell this is an area I struggle with since I talk about it all the time??) But I think I'm getting better. Each day I am finding more and more things to be grateful for and less and less things to complain about.

So, if you're interested, you should watch this show! As you can tell, I really enjoyed it.