4th of July, Wild Goose, and Addicts Saving My Faith
I find my husband’s family—the Christensen clan—is absolutely delightful. Fourth of July is a big event for us. I’ve been to Hill City’s Independence Day celebration since 1996, except for one year, last summer. I was super busy doing an internship in recovery ministry, and just couldn’t get away. But this year I was back, and wow… something strange happened. After taking a year off, everything felt new again. The same feelings I had in 1996 came back: “Wow, this is so much fun. What a sense of family! What a sense of community! Babies to seniors, all playing together. Pontoon rides, campfires, fireworks, street games, etc, etc, etc.” After going north for the 4 th of July year after year, it’s almost as if I was desensitized to the whole sensory experience of it. So this year, it all came flooding back. And what’s even stranger, the thing that took me away last year—recovery ministry—is another one o