Oath of allegiance

You would've thought I'd blog on becoming a citizen last Thursday. LOL Well, I am an American citizen now. woohoo! I first drove all the way from the seminary to Irving, thinking that the ceremony was there. Then when I got all 3 kids down to the building and checking the diaper bag through security, an officer came up to me and said, "Ma'am, it is not here." "You are KIDDING me!" So I looked on the paper, and realized it was in a court house in downtown Fort Worth. Wow. I wasn't mad, I had a peace and calmness about it that only God could explain. I buckled all 3 kids back into the car, drove down to dowtown Fort Worth and tried to park. Parking was expensive and guess what? I did not bring my wallet. HA. HA. Well, I drove around till I found a meter and I prayed and prayed that it was one with leftover minutes in it. Lo and behold, the Lord provides 39 minutes on the meter! So, I used the 2 dimes and a nickel that I found on the carpet in my car and prayed that the ceremony will not be longer than an hour. My kids must have thought I was losing my mind watching me mumbling these prayers.

As we went into the court house, I explained to the officer at the front that I went to Irving. Without another word, he said, "go upstairs to the 4th floor and look for Maria." "okay... thanks" "don't dwadle, you don't have much time. go go go!" So with 3 children under the age of 4, we went to the 4th floor. Well, it was real quiet and real solemn. There were people outside the courthouse waiting for the people who were in the ceremony. So I started asking everyone where Maria is. No one knew. I prayed again. Suddenly the door opens, and out comes Maria. NO KIDDING! "MARIA, MARIA!" She was very surprised and said to go with her. As she opened the door, she asked, "You didn't bring anyone with you?" I shook my head. "Do you have to bring your kids?" "Well, Yes! I am not leaving them outside" So with thousands of apologies, I walked through the court house where people had to move their chairs and legs out of the way for my kids and stroller. Finally, I reached the immigration officers who just checked me in and asked me to sit... There was no room. So, one of the officers stood up and orchestrated for a whole row of strangers to move down one seat. That was my most most most embarrassing moment of my life. We waited and waited for the judge to come out. Someone sang the star spangled banner and then all 63 countries represented were mentioned, ranging from Iran to Vietnam. Then we got to the oath of allegiance. This is the part where I thought was interesting. The oath really reminded me of a covenant I made with the Lord my God when I first surrended my life to Him! Read this:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

When we declare our faith in Christ, we renounce our allegiance to the world, Satan and our sinful nature. That we will read His word, support and defend the Truth which is in Christ Jesus. That we will put on the armor of God and stand firm against the Devil's schemes. Ephesians 6. That we quoting the oath, take the obligation freely without nay mental reservation or purpose of evasion, so help us Lord! We are to renounce our own lives and die to ourselves and gain new lives in Christ! When we "jump kingdoms", we must understand that we will no longer serve the Prince of the World but pledge our lives to the Prince of Peace.

Well anyway, then judge Bleil had to give the keynote address because there was no keynote speaker. He was so funny. He kept apologizing for America and speaking of the responsibilities of the judicial branch. That sometimes the executive and legislative branch tells the judicial branch to shut up and that's wrong because the judicial branch keeps the other branches in line. Then he went on to tell people to vote.

Then someone sang God bless America. I personally preferred God bless the USA but I'll take God bless America. Then we did the pledge of allegiance and that was it! I was glad we went to Irving because if we showed up at 9:30, I would not have had enough coins for 3 hours, and I would have been in terrible traffic, upset, stressed out and grouchy. And the kids would not have behaved so well at the courthouse. The Lord turned my carelessness into a huge blessing. The first thing I did to celebrate my new found citizenship was to fill out a form to register as a voter!!! =)

Lord thank You that I am a citizen in Heaven. That You have allowed me to become part of Your Kingdom. AMEN.