On July 1, 2017, Canada will celebrate its 150th Birthday!  I remember vividly celebrating Canada’s 100th Birthday in 1967.  My class along with many others had been invited to sing in front of the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, B.C., and the song of choice was Bobby Gimby’s “Ca-na-da” song.  It was a stirring, patriotic, and catchy little tune, with easy-to-memorize lyrics for children.  After having rehearsed it for months, it also became a tune that was always stuck in my head, and to this day I can still remember all the words!

I am proud to be a Canadian!  I have been fully immersed in the culture, the uniqueness that is “typically Canadian” since I was born.  I applaud the efforts of those who have contributed positively to Canadian society and stand proudly whenever the National Anthem, “O’ Canada” is sung.  I love seeing the Maple Leaf flag fly high at sporting events, as well as on buildings and properties all across this great land.  This land is vast, unconquerable, and exploring it one province at a time might take a lifetime, but that’s one of my goals…to visit each province and territory before God calls me Home.

Canadians, for the most part, do not take themselves too seriously.  One of our over-generalized traits is that we’re too polite, and being so easygoing we can laugh at ourselves and our little idiosyncrasies just as much as those who like to poke fun at us.  Luckily, we enjoy to mess with the less knowledgeable nations who still believe every Canadian lives in an igloo and has a polar bear for a pet…(sorry big neighbour to the south :))

On July 1st, my husband and I will be Ottawa, and we will stand with a million of our closest friends there on Parliament Hill waving our flags and watching the fireworks.  We will likely not be around for Canada’s bi-centennial so we thought we needed to make the  pilgrimage from Alberta to our nation’s capital and join in all the festivities there.  I am looking forward to the trip but I am also praying that in the midst of these patriotic celebrations God will be high and lifted up!

Did you know that the “supremacy of God” is Canada’s founding principle?  This is the preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law …”  Certainly, over the years, many have tried to have the wording changed, to erase “God” from the document but so far have failed in their attempts.  These are challenging times in our nation, with many rejecting the Word of God.  I pray that as we celebrate this special birthday and move towards our bi-centennial fifty years from now that God’s principles will still continue to be lauded and respected in this country.

I pray that fifty years from now my grandchildren will be excited to celebrate Canada’s bi-centennial, not merely because this country will be two hundred years old but because our nation continues to believe in the supremacy of God.  May we always remember and heed the warning from scripture:  “The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.”  Psalm 9:17