We stood amazed.

We were standing in front of The Alamo. We happened to be in San Antonio on the 300^th anniversary. There were people buzzing all around like bees. They were preparing for a ceremony, but we were mostly unaware. Stunned at the history and reverence of this place, we didn’t expect to be so emotional.

We have visited other monuments and seemingly sacred spaces. But for some reason, this one struck me to the core. It was so fascinating and humbling at the same time. We read about the fight, the reasons for it and the end. We quietly stood and took it all in. It was all so old.

You can’t take pictures inside the church- it is considered a sacred place of sacrifice. There are no hats, no phones, and no loud voices. Truthfully, we didn’t even want to talk. Not a peep as we walked through looking at the stone walls and peeking into the rooms which were used for more than one Holy purpose.

Did you know the first purpose of this site was one of mission, conversion, and worship? Imagine your church building, the place where you worship freely, turned into a refuge in a time of war. Imagine the same ending- men, women, and children hunkered down yet still losing their lives, even inside its walls. Imagine realizing the purpose of the fight is the space you hold refuge in.

Some rooms in the church were considered holy – where the Holy Sacraments were stored. There were places only the clergy could enter. God and tradition were taken seriously. It was not a place for guns, violence or slaughter. Yet, this is what it became. We felt honored to be able to share the space with all those who had traveled here.

There was a curved row of plaques honoring the men who died inside the church. One of them was  “________ John, A freed black man”. He died for their cause and they didn’t even know his whole name.  The rest were listed by last name, first name, state of origin. His name was the most impactful, something we will never forget. You can read more here.

At the Alamo, there were deep-seeded beliefs in God, Family, and resistance throughout its history. It makes me think of our current circumstances. People have thrown God and providence to the wayside. Some think they have a cause and maybe they do. Today, there seems to be only resistance, but I cannot always figure out to what. There are causes for everything. There is much propaganda and information travels fast, even when its wrong. The question becomes, do you know why you fight? 

The current environment makes very little progress with political agendas and divisions. However, every issue is important.  We all want equal pay and equal treatment. Isn’t this what previous generations fought for during the Suffrage, Abolition and Equal Rights movements? Sometimes (not always) it feels like we are fighting for something which has already been won.

Instead of fighting, we should actually be doing something.

This is applicable to every world issue. There are relationships which need to be repaired in our society. Those things do not get repaired by adding to the noise. We need to stop screaming and fighting so hard. Instead, taking in the wonder of the sacrifices already made for us.  Being at the Alamo reminded me of this truth.

Did you know the Alamo site was ultimately saved by a woman?

In the name of progress, the entire site was going to be sold and demolished. All of the history forgotten for big city planning. Clara Driscoll was a wealthy local woman who joined the fight to save the site from development. Clara, along with others, took action. They worked to preserve the history and sanctity of the Alamo. They were intentional in their own community. You can read the timeline here.

The intentional actions of this group of women saved a major piece of history. If it weren’t for their actions, all the stories of those who fought and died may be lost. We are reminded of our own intentional living. Our children, marriage, relationships, jobs, and God need us to do something instead of only talking about it. We feel the need to take action in our own little corner of the world.

Our Own Intentionality

Living with intention has been a challenge. We managed to put into words our core beliefs.

We have been adamant about living our actual lives instead of focusing on marching and screaming. Living intentionally allows us to support people in real time, solving day to day problems.

We have been quiet about politics- We believe they are necessary on some level, but we are not politicians. We exercise our right to vote and keep our thoughts private.

We have been without a public opinion on social issues. We keep those beliefs to ourselves because they are ours alone. We love people and their love for life, and since we don’t have the luxury (or burden) of making your decisions, we leave that up to you.

We are Bible-believing Christians. We believe Jesus walked the earth and gave himself up to save us all if we choose to accept him. We believe he set forth a list of rules which are not merely suggestions. We strive to live by those rules, but we adhere to the “Faith, Hope, Love” rule greatest of all.

We know what free will is. If we have the choice to decide about our lifestyle, so do you. It is not our position to choose for someone else, even if we believe differently.

In wrapping up, a couple of challenging questions to ponder:

• Do you know what you are fighting for and why?
• Is your determination and drive better served in your daily life?
• At the end of your life, when everything is coming to a close, what do you want your legacy to be?

We can answer all three questions.

~Yes, We know what we are fighting for.

~Yes, our determination is better served by doing things in our real life, not just talking about them.

~We want our legacy to be Jesus saying “well done.”