Over the past few weeks I have been quiet on this blog. Part of that was having the time to blog with everything else going on (and trying to figure out when to sleep:). The other part had to do with the elections. One of the things I try to be very deliberate about is not making my political views known, as I have the honor and priviledge to serve people from all walks of life on the political spectrum. I love politics, I love true debate that raises the public awareness of issues, I love the process and the dream that is America.
Going into today we all knew that history would be made - either an African American would be elected president or a woman would be elected to the second highest office in the land. As I spent time preparing for this election, I kept thinking about what a blessing it is to be in a country where this can take place and where we all have the freedom and ability to look beyond a persons race or gender and see the gifts and abilites that person has been given.
And now we enter into a time of preparation for new leadership in this country. My first thought is to pray for our new leaders, asking that God watch over them, protect them, and give them the wisdom and insight that is needed to lead this country. My second thought is that I am so tired of the negative junk that comes out in campaigns. It is way too easy to tear people down - the hard work is building others up, and that is the hard work we are called to do as Christians. We are called to seek out those who are struggling and in pain and embody the Gospel as we enter into their pits of life, walking the walk with them. My prayer is that we can all work past the differences that separate us and unite in our love of God, neighbor, country, and world.
So tonight, as I watch the closing speeches, may we all celebrate the gifts that God has given to us. May we all work together to put the negative junk behind us and celebrate the gifts that are in others. And may we bless others as we have been blessed.
