THE TREASURES OF HISTORY by Lynn Downham

By Lynn Downham

I love history. Knowledge of the history of our country, our family, our world, and our faith brings insight and understanding to our unique places in this world and our unique place in God’s plan.

Memories are powerful and many of them, particularly from childhood, stay imprinted on our minds for years. My brothers and I were blessed to have a teaching mother who taught us about the history of this great country, the United States, and about its cornerstone celebration, the 4th of July. During one of these celebrations, my mother put us three kids into the neighborhood’s 4th of July parade. Since Mom always made all our costumes, she had us all properly attired. One brother was riding his two-wheeler all decked out in red, white, and blue crepe paper and the other was dressed in a George Washington costume and riding on a bouncing hobby horse in a wagon pulled by another person. I was a rocket. The rocket was tall and skinny with a small hole cut out to see through, but its diameter was so narrow that you could only take about a foot and a half step at a time. Every five minutes or so Mom would have to run up to me, lift the rocket off, let me catch up to my place in the parade, and then slide the rocket back over me. Hard to forget. I think I was the laughingstock of the parade.

When my Dad gave me the written idea for The Mouses book, which was published a couple of years ago, my family memories came spilling out for picture ideas for the book’s illustrations. The 4th of July parade was an easy contender. This particular illustration of the 4th of July parade will be included in the sequel to The Mouses, the Mouses’ Holiday Book, which I hope to publish next year. The first book, The Mouses, is about a family of homeschooling mice who lead a community of ladybugs to salvation. It is available now and perhaps I will use some of its illustrations in a future article.

In closing, I’d like to go back to history for a moment. The greatest history book ever written is obviously the Holy Bible. If God didn’t believe knowing history was important we wouldn’t have this book. It gives us a true sense of our identity in God and provides us with a “true North” compass for our lives. In the same way, knowing our history as a nation gives us and our children roots, a true sense of what it means to be a United States citizen. This knowledge is essential to truly grasp the sacrifice that others made that we might be free. In order to fulfill God’s destiny in this world, in this country, it is imperative that we all remember the giants upon whose shoulders’ we stand.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ “then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt...” Deuteronomy 6:20-21