“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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I Am Not a Virginian
I am not a Virginian. Neither is my wife, Katie. Both of us are Georgians.
My oldest daughter, Melanie, was born in Athens, GA. That makes her a Georgian, not a Virginian. Even so, all her memories from 3-years-old until she graduated from college are of Charlottesville, VA. That’s her hometown. Technically speaking, her hometowns are Crozet, VA and Keswick, VA, but they are suburbs of Charlottesville. Charlottesville people know that. Others don’t.
My youngest daughter, Rebekah, was born in Charlottesville. She’s a real Virginian, but in Virginia, there is an old saying that goes like this: “If your family can’t trace it’s roots back 300 years, you are not a real Virginian.”
That’s Virginian arrogance and pomposity, but it is serious in Virginia. There is a group in Virginia called the “FFV”. That’s “First Families of Virginia”. That matters in Virginia. People who should know better will tell you that they are FFV. When I worked in the Governor’s Office, I met and got to know a lot of them.
I spent 25 years in Virginia at the University of Virginia. That makes me and members of my family different. We are associated with UVA. It was founded by Thomas Jefferson. We belong by virtue of that fact and that fact alone. No one in Virginia can doubt our heritage. We are UVA people. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, was at the top of the hill across the Rivanna River from our home in Keswick, Glenmore Country Club. In the winter when leaves were off the trees, we could see Jefferson’s home from the clubhouse and from the golf course. During spring, summer, and fall, the leaves on the trees obscured our view of Monticello.
In the eyes of real Virginians, I am now and always will be a son of Virginia. Where I live doesn’t matter. My ties to Virginia are as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. That’s an undeniable fact. Nothing can change it. When I travel around the world, I am a son of Virginia. That has worked to my advantage on a number of occasions, and I suspect that it will come into play again before I die.
I am a son of Yahweh, too. He is my Father. All His promises apply to me. I am the beneficiary of everything He has done. My allegiance is to Him and to Him alone. Everything else is secondary. The same is true for all believers.
For What It’s Worth
When Katie and I moved to Virginia, I didn’t lie to anyone, but I didn’t tell them everything I knew. I am not obligated to tell anyone everything I know.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
