Chuck Swindoll - I Shall Never Forget My Promise

Chuck Swindoll writes: “I recall, as a little barefoot boy standing erect in my classroom and repeating the “Pledge of Allegiance” one Thanksgiving season. Our nation was at war and times were hard. My teacher had lost her husband on the blood washed shores of Normandy. As we later bowed our heads for prayer she wept aloud. I did too. All the class joined in. She stumbled through one of the most moving expressions of gratitude and praise that ever emerged from a soul plunged in pain. Lost in sympathy and a boy’s pity for his teacher, I walked home very slowly that afternoon. Although only a child, I had profound feelings of gratitude for my country . . . my friends . . . my school . . . my church . . . my family. I promised God that I would fight to the end to keep this land free from foes who would want to take away America’s distinctives and the joys of living in this good land. I have never forgotten my childhood promise. I never shall.” (Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, p. 424).