In my mind, I have been so busy with a head full of dreams. Dreams of rescuing children suffering in an America full of resources, but failing to clothe, feed, shelter the most vulnerable and valuable in our society, the widows (elderly) and orphans (from neglect from addiction not just substances but also the ego and materialism oh, me the list is becoming infinite.) This is America. The home of the free and the brave and prosperity or was the American Dream a farce, a myth? Where are all the men and women of Good Will? What about “to those who have much, much is expected?”
I always dreamed of being a missionary in a Third World country. Helping others find “happiness” and building wells, schools, and churches. I had a plan. I was so pumped after our trip to Jamaica. We made excursions away from the resort to be among the authentic Jamaicans. I would rise early for my morning run and commune with the workers at the resort about their lives, dreams, and plans. Allowing the gardeners to teach me the flora and fauna of the land, I soaked in everything so I could share my experience with my students. I said, “Ken, here is our retirement plan!” Looking at me like here comes Sarah the Dreamer. “We will retire and spend winters in Jamaica. I will teach at the Catholic school in the city where we visited. In the summers come home and visit the kids and family. I always planned to teach until my last breath. We could still go home to watch the Memphis Tigers on occasion and watch the Yankees on the internet.” He just let me dream as we worked and raised our children. That was 2005.
In 2009, Ken was diagnosed with lung disease, end stage emphysema. In 2010, we lost our beautiful, wild, blue eyed son to a freak accident at the age of 26. In 2012, I got the ALS diagnosis. Retirement dreams became dreams of surviving to raise our children. Hoping and praying to get them safely on their feet before we left this earth. Ken asked God to see Abbey graduate high school; she was 8 years old. I asked God for 60 years. I was 43 in 2012. Dreams were thwarted, but God answers prayers. Ken got 13 years and was 6 months shy of watching her graduate college and I am 56 trying to do what God leads me to do like writing this blog to you, my students. I hear the back row chuckle saying they know the real reason I wanted to retire in Jamaica. Let’s continue.
My newest mission is helping the least of mankind in the land o’ plenty. My mission field is my home county and my current county in West Tennessee. I don’t need to traverse the globe, I am literally using my own backyard to advocate for rebuilding our broken social system. With Christ all things are possible and I know that. Our Savior is one of redemption and our systems have become punitive ignoring the dignity of mankind. We need restoration for our struggling brothers and sisters. The current generation is showing the absence of knowledge of the virtues of the forefathers of this great experiment called The United States of America. We need to take care of the children and widows, remember.
Throughout history God has given us prophets to give warning to the people who were falling asleep to the laws given to them. Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses, and many more came to give warning to the people. Miracles happened. The Bible has been proven to be historically valid. Miracles happened and were recorded. They still do.
Students let this quote sink in “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”. What does this mean? The power of our government for the people and by the people need to be moral, concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character and holding or displaying high principles for proper conduct.(Oxford dictionary moral definition) Why would John Adams say this? He made this statement in 1798, expressing concern that if people became greedy, power-hungry, or deceitful, they would “break the strongest cords of our Constitution”. How does this moral, religion, and virtue vacant USA be viable? It can’t. What guides the hearts of the population? Vices. No political or social order that wants Good Will towards each other. I, me, mine mentality. Selfish. I want to break the wheels of generational depravity. Join me. I am dreaming again. Stay tuned for more to come on how we can Be the Good our communities desperately need.
Sarah Anderson Alley
Sal the Dreamer Gal
Quotes by John Adams:
“Daughter! Get you an honest Man for a Husband, and keep him honest. No matter whether he is rich, provided he be independent. Regard the Honour and moral Character of the Man more than all other Circumstances. Think of no other Greatness but that of the soul, no other Riches but those of the Heart. An honest, Sensible humane Man, above all the Littlenesses of Vanity, and Extravagances of Imagination, labouring to do good rather than be rich, to be usefull rather than make a show, living in a modest Simplicity clearly within his Means and free from Debts or Obligations, is really the most respectable Man in Society, makes himself and all about him the most happy.”
“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished.
But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, ‘whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection,’ and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.”
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write .”
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