The day after Independence Day, Sunday, our church choir director led us in singing a patriotic hymn and offered a heartfelt prayer for America. The hymn was inspired by 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Except for our choir director, every choir member was born outside the United States. After we sang, our pastor looked around the congregation and asked a thought-provoking question: “What does the Fourth of July mean to you?”
The question carried special significance because more than 90 percent of those in attendance were foreign-born. We came from countries including India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Mongolia, Ghana, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ukraine, China, and many others.
Freedom and Opportunity
Our pastor briefly invited several members of the congregation to share their answers. The most common response was simple yet profound: “Freedom and opportunity.”
Others expressed deep gratitude for the United States. They spoke of a country where they had experienced kindness and generosity, found opportunities they never imagined possible, and discovered hope for a brighter future. For many of them, America is more than a place to live—it is a place where they can pursue their dreams, provide a better life for their families, and look to the future with confidence.
What the Fourth of July Means to Me
As the only Chinese person in the congregation, I felt both proud and at home. Unlike the cultural conformity I experienced in China, America is a nation shaped by people from diverse backgrounds, united not by ethnicity but by a shared commitment to freedom.
The Fourth of July celebrates far more than America’s independence from British rule. It symbolizes freedom from the tyranny of the Old World and affirms the enduring belief that every individual has the right to pursue happiness through hard work and opportunity. Under these ideals, people are defined not by their race, nationality, or the circumstances of their birth, but by their character, their actions, and their contributions.
That is what the Fourth of July means to me: the liberation of the human spirit — the freedom to dream, to believe, to speak freely, and to build a better life.
(Picture – I took the photo at the Great American State Fair – Freedom 250, National Mall, Washington, D.C. Artist Scott LoBaido was painting the beautiful American flag.)