I have a confession.

In my mind's eye, I had surrendered to the enemy. How distasteful. How

unspeakable. How unthinkable, but that's what I had done. I committed

this sin in a dangerous place, in the depths of my mind. God's Word says,

"as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7.

This terrible

personal sin was that before 9/11, I had thought that due to the personal

greed and self indulgence, disregard for God, and the media driven consumerism

that seemed to grip the very heart of Americans, that we could never recover.

It appeared to me that America was headed to hell in a handbasket floating

toward Niagara Falls. It appeared to me that it wasn't a question of whether

or not the handbasket would go over the falls, but it was just a matter

of when.

As I have written

before, my family was, and is, extremely patriotic. If you wanted to get

into a "red face" knock-down-drag out fight, you just run down

the USA in their presence.

Mom and Dad

were from, as Tom Brokow wrote in his book, "the greatest generation."

These were the folks who survived the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean

War, and the Vietnam War. These were folks who knew how to make ends meet

and stretch a dollar a long way. These were the folks who knew how to

repair something and make it last.

I can remember

when America began to change. I went into an auto parts store and asked

for a "repair kit" for a part and seeing the parts man just

stand there and smile and say, "Sir, no one repairs parts anymore."

I then thought to myself, "Well, they ought to learn."

I have a long-time,

dear friend who fought all through the Korean and Vietnam War. His name

is Wes Justus. I met Wes and his family while we were serving at Fort

Benning in Columbus. Wes was talking to my father about the state of affairs

in the US during the Vietnam protests and racial unrest of the late '60s

and '70s. Wes, being one who had gallantly fought for this country, was

very concerned watching it being torn apart on the evening news each night.

Wes asked my

father what he thought about the situation. Dad replied to Wes, "When

the country needs them, Americans will rally around the flag." Dad

and Mom were visionaries. I guess it was part of being one of those people

from "the greatest generation."

We saw some

of this same greatness and sacrifice exhibited during the tragedy of 9/11,

where men and women did not think of their personal safety but sacrificed

their very lives for some they never even knew.

Forgive me

for I have sinned. I never dreamed that deep-seated freedom loving patriotism

was still here. "When the Country needs them, they will rally around

the flag."

President Bush

included in his speech at the Pentagon the scripture from the 23rd Psalm:

"Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will

fear no evil for thou art with me." May God bless our country and

the men and women who still hold to the values that have sustained us!

The Rev.

Dr. Knox Herndon is pastor of His House Community Church (SBC). The Rev.

Greg Mausz is senior associate pastor. The Rev. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the

Sunday School superintendent, Bible study coordinator and teacher. The

church is just below Fayetteville, on Ga. Highway 85, a mile south of

Ga. Highway 16, just below the fire station. Visitors welcome. Church

office and prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected]. The church's

new Web site is www.hishousecommunitychurch.com.

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