Making the Best of Your Sphere of Influence

This week on Founders' Friday, I want to talk about our "sphere of influence." We all have one. As I read and studied about which person to feature, I learned that today's patriot, Richard Henry Lee, was a person who helped greatly in the founding of our country. He was born into an aristocratic family in Virginia. His parents sent him to school in Yorkshire, England. I've been to Yorkshire--it's beautiful! In fact, here is a picture of me standing in the gardens of a house we had hoped to tour. It was closed the day we were there but beautiful outside, nonetheless. I seem to remember that George Washington visited there or had something to do with the house. So although I doubt it's the same place where Richard Henry Lee went to school, it does give you a bit of the English atmosphere he would have encountered in his youth.

During his school years Richard Henry Lee learned to love history (Hooray! Don't downplay the importance of that!) and especially enjoyed the study of the ancient republics. The love of this subject matter grounded him in thoughts of freedom and representative government.

At about age 20 he formed a military corps and was elected commander.He became a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses at around age 25. He was involved in numerous other political offices and endeavors. Since Richard's brother ,Arthur Lee, lived in London and had connections with many important people in government, he furnished him with much correct intelligence concerning the British Parliament This kept him informed of the British attitude and devices against the colonies. This too, was a matter of seeing one's position in life and making the best of it, it seems to me!

As well as being the person that introduced the resolutions to separate completely from England, Richard Henry Lee was a signer of of the Declaration of Independence and was chosen as the first Senator from Virginia under the new Federal Constitution.

History tells us that he was a Christian and dearly loved by his family. He had several children and died at age 64.


Richard Henry Lee influenced others from his station in life to affect change. He is different than some of the heroes we have highlighted in the last few weeks since he was born into privilege. But it doesn't matter where you are placed, you can be an influence for good. The Bible features many examples of such people. Some of them include Moses, Esther, and Joseph. All three of these people used their circumstances as a springboard for positive change. Moses was born into the family of slaves but through a turn of events ended up in the palace where he could best influence the plight of his countrymen--but not before he experienced a major encounter with God! Joseph used even his time in prison to minister to others, eventually saving two nations through his faithfulness. Esther, though she may not have chosen the unusual path she found herself traveling,she too used her circumstances to save her people.

What can you do today in your sphere of influence to affect your nation? If we all had that mindset, we would probably see more patriots arising out of both privileged and obscure places. Think about it--what is your sphere of influence? Your job? Your church? Your neighborhood? Your family? Be an influencer for truth and righteousness--you may one day be called a patriot!

FOUNDERS' FRIDAY--THE NEXT GENERATION

Who is Huldah C. (Town?) Rice Hill Johnson and why are we honoring her on Founder’s Friday? Huldah C.(Town?) Rice Hill Johnson—we aren’t even sure of her maiden name but can only speculate from scant information—was born in April 1812. She is not actually a “founder” in the technical sense. She didn’t sign the declaration, she didn’t fight in a major war, she didn’t help frame the constitution—but she was a woman who saw much history in her lifetime. Probably the daughter of a revolutionary war soldier, Huldah was born in New York. She was married and widowed three times. She raised eight children, some from each marriage. She moved from New York to Ohio and further west in her lifetime. She watched her sons march off to war. She saw our country go through the great division of the Civil War. This particular time period affected her greatly. Her daughter was widowed as a result of this war leaving her with a baby that Huldah’s son-in-law may have never seen. Another daughter’s husband fought in countless battles of the Civil War, suffering from disease and recovering to fight again.

Both Huldah’s daughters that I just mentioned were presidents of their local and county chapters of the Grand Army of the Republic Auxiliary groups for women.

Huldah’s 1891 obituary gives us a glimpse into her life with its quaint wording, “In her history are several coincidences among them the fact that her birth, each marriage and death occurred in April.”

Since so many of the major events of Huldah’s life happened in April, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to feature her this month.

Why honor this woman whose name is virtually unknown? While Huldah was not a “founder” in the sense of the word I’ve been using for the last two weeks, I thought it proper to honor her for a couple of reasons. Being a generation removed from the actual founding of our country, women like Huldah Johnson saw so much in their lifetimes that we could learn from. Every generation is a link that “founds” something or “lays a foundaton” for the generation that will follow it. By featuring the interesting facts of Huldah’s life, I hope you will look at your own life, (I think most of my readers are not famous personages!) and realize that what you do is a link in a long line of “founding” things for those who will come after you. If those in Huldah’s generation, the sons and daughters of the actual “founders,” “signers,” and “revolutionary war soldiers,” had not built upon their parents’ and grandparents’ visions, our country would not have lasted for even the 234 years that it has. We are all “founding” something. It is obvious that some of the vision of Huldah’s predecessors was still carried on in her lifetime by sons and daughters that were active in serving their country, even her daughters in their auxiliary group activities. Future generations of Huldah’s family married soldiers that fought in both World Wars.

Right now in our country we are facing a crisis. We are literally at a turning point in our history, I believe. Will we in this generation stand for the principles of the founders and framers or will we systematically throw away and chip away at what they worked and fought so hard to deliver to us? Each of us has a choice—daily. Will anyone remember our names after we pass from this earthly scene? Maybe, maybe not. So who is Huldah C. (Town?) Rice Hill Johnson? Is she a forgotten name in history? No, she is my great, great, great grandmother, at this point, my earliest link in a long line of patriotic people. She is the link that will tie me to the revolutionary war if I can confirm the name of her father. Rhiannon recently learned that she is probably the daughter of a revolutionary war soldier from Vermont or New York, most likely by the name of “Town.” We are in the process of connecting the family tree to include her father’s name and history. It’s very exciting to find out that you may have an ancestor who fought for the original freedom of this nation. It kind of puts into perspective your own life and really how close you are to what happened so long ago. It makes you consider the “link” that you are in your own generation concerning what is to come.
So hats off to “Grandma Johnson,” a daughter or granddaughter of the founding generation! We are all “founders” in a sense! Thankfully, we Americans have a foundation that was based on the Bible—let’s work to keep it! “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear, for the Day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 Blessings, LORI