[blockquote cite=”Ronald Reagan”]With our eyes fixed on the future, but recognizing the realities of today, we will achieve our destiny to be as a shining city on a hill for all mankind to see.[/blockquote]
Viewing the sunrise over the ocean from the beautiful shores of the Outer Banks in North Carolina is truly inspiring. Walking back from one such experience I happened on a young lady walking her two dogs. I was wearing one of my Ronald Reagan t-shirts. She noticed it and told me that one of her friends use to be a secretary for Ronald Reagan and that she was so inspired by him that she named her daughter, who happened to be staying there, after him. I get this reaction all the time when I wear a Reagan shirt, but, I must confess I don’t get the same reaction when I wear my James K. Polk shirt (yes they do make those). Our country’s top leader, whether we like it or not, does stir up a reaction inside us.
I developed an interest in presidents at a very young age. In fact, I remember my Mom getting so frustrated with me at one point she said, “I don’t want to hear about you becoming president someday anymore.” When George W. Bush was president I read a book review in the paper on a new book that came out about James K. Polk and how similar the situations of each of those times were. It was then that I decided to read a book about each of the presidents. As I read each one I got more and more attached to each one. That doesn’t mean I believe all of them did a good job, it just means I think I understand each one a little better.
Life is a constant lesson. It is through our trials, not the good times, we often find out who we really are. I hope you, like me, have discovered that after the storms have passed, the Lighthouse never moves and following its direction is always the best choice. Through these storms I have learned to relate stories I have read to life applications.
It is not my aim to discuss the personal relationships each of these men has had with God, but rather, it is to use their life stories to relate things on a personal level. Through good and bad times, each president has inspired me and it is that inspiration I hope to be able to share with you. I hope God is able to touch these messages so they mean something to you.