Happy Birthday Canada! by Susan L.

 I live in a great country with many freedoms that are taken for granted. This blog is one. A huge one because I can pretty much say anything without fear of retribution. It could be a rant against the government or our high taxes. The right to free speech is truly the ability to speak freely.
  Women can walk down the street alone, own a car, a home, have their own bank accounts, have a job. There is still some inequality in the workplace but it is getting better thanks to those who speak freely, demanding changes be made.
  We have the power to force the government to address important issues without fear of being arrested. And even if we are because of breaking the law, we still have rights upheld by other laws.
  I can walk into a church and worship the God I adore without fear.
  It's a big country. Heading west, I'd have to drive seven hours just to get out of Ontario! Three days across three provinces of flat would see the western rolling hills of Alberta at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Another two days of climbing and winding up and down would end at the Pacific Ocean.
  It's a two and a half day drive from here to reach the Atlantic. Sea to sea is filled with natural wonders and beauty. The arctic, the granite shores of northern Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the five Great Lakes, acres and acres of forest, and so much more I've never laid eyes on. Did I mention the country was big?
  We have fresh water to drink although that resource is not inexhaustible. I have my own well and can drink the water right from the ground at the turn of a tap. Food, too, is readily available.
  Our military is for peacekeeping purposes.
  We share the largest unprotected border in the world with the US.
  Oh, Canada! My home and native land. May our leaders guide us well in the sight of God.
  "O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Ps 30:12