Dear friends, Live Free, the 2021-22 AHG Program Year Theme. What a timely message. We have lived through a most interesting time in history. The pandemic mysteriously affected the four corners of the earth, plaguing millions with a disease of a reportedly unknown origin. This disease shut down the world economy, forced people to stay in their homes and when they did leave, they were mandated to wear masks and “socially distance”. The COVID-19 pandemic robbed the common man of his freedom, forcing him into behaviors that were unnatural and difficult. For the Christian, our freedom does not come from the U.S. Constitution or any other manmade document or manifesto. It comes from the Lord God Himself. The complete story of the Bible can best be summed up in the word “free.” From the stories in Exodus, when God’s people are enslaved in Egypt and then set free by the Lord in the Promised Land, to all of the books in the New Testament extolling God’s sacrifice of His one and only son for the sole purpose of freeing mankind from the slavery of sin; the Bible is truly the Freedom Book. Jesus brings us the ability to live free. It is only through Him that true freedom can exist. Faith in the Lord allows for freedom from physical pain, from guilt, from vices, from fear and anxiety, from believing falsehoods and false gods, from our own destructive thoughts. He brings us peace, He brings us rest, He brings us truth, He brings us satisfaction, and He brings us the ability to love and to serve. Masks, indoor orders, vaccination fears, climbing death tolls are serious and provoke anxiety, certainly. But no matter what our form of “imprisonment” may be, our chains can fall. We can live free despite our circumstances. Paul represents this so well. Despite his chains, he states in Ephesians 3:1 that he may be in prison but he is still free in Christ. Paul had hope in his present situation and he had hope for the future as he believed in the Author and Creator of hope. Jesus offers us the very same hope He generously gave to Paul. He invites us to “live free.” And this is my prayer for all of the members of the American Heritage Girls that this year, as we reunite in our Troops and in our meeting places, that we live free with the joy of the Lord coloring our every day. With love and prayers,
Patti Garibay AHG Founder & Executive Director
AMERICAN HERITAGE GIRLS | 3
