My Trip to Washington, D.C.

In all my travels, I had never been to Washington, D.C., our nation's Capitol. I had traveled to Russia and Ukraine, Austria and Amsterdam, Honduras and Peru, but never to the Capitol. As a child, I heard stories about Washington, with its beautiful monuments and rich history, and had always wanted to go. Finally, at the end of May of this year, I had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C.—and it was amazing.

Monuments built to honor soldiers, presidents, and wars fill the Capitol with rich history. My trip only lasted a few days, so there was no way I could see everything. But I did get to visit the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Library of Congress, National Archives Building, Supreme Court Building, Capitol Building, the National Museum of Natural History, as well as other significant memorials and attractions.

One of the most interesting things about the Capitol is the fact that our country's Founding Fathers had a strong belief in God and His Word. In many schools and public places, people are trying to take "God" out of things. In many schools, the Ten Commandments cannot be posted, students cannot lead prayers, and Bibles cannot be read. But that is not how our country started. In fact, my trip to Washington helped me to see that the United States of America was founded on principles taught in the Bible, and many of the monuments and exhibits prove this fact.

For instance, the Washington Monument is the tallest structure in the Capitol. On the very tip of it there is a 100 oz. aluminum triangle with writing on four of its sides. On one side, the phrase Laus Deo is inscribed. This phrase is Latin and means "Praise be to God."

Isn't it interesting that in a country which seems to be trying to erase God from many places such as schools and courtrooms, at the very tip of the highest structure in the nation's Capitol, it says that praise should be given to God? We should let such monuments remind us that our nation was founded on the idea of God, and if we forget that fact, our nation will fall. The writer of Psalm nine said: "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17).

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