God had a plan for you. For me. From the beginning, He had work for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). When He was knitting us together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13), He was hardwiring in certain things. Not just our hair or eye color, but our personalities and passions.

One of the most popular religious assumptions of our day is that all roads eventually lead to heaven. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or some combination of spiritual traditions are commonly presented as equally valid paths to the same destination. As long as we are sincere, many insist, what we believe matters far less than how deeply we believe it.

This Veterans Day, we commemorate more than 251 years of American military service. Established on June 14, 1775, the Continental Army preceded the nation whose independence it would help secure. From the beginning, American patriots took up arms to defend a people who would soon appeal in the Declaration of Independence to the “Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.” They understood liberty as a gift from God, worthy of their courage and sacrifice.

Some of my earliest memories of music involve sitting beside my Mimi at the piano. My grandmother was the church organist at Hoboken Baptist Church, and when I was about four years old, she would get me home from church on Sunday morning and, before we had lunch, sit me down at the piano.

​My brother tells the story of inviting our Mom to go with his family on a trip to Canada. At the time, Canada didn’t require a passport from US citizens but did require two forms of identification. Mom’s birth certificate and driver’s license would suffice.