Election Day

My sister's lawn

And what a day it was.  There was a feeling of hope in our community that Romney could possibly be the next president.  I live in a conservative county, and belong to a conservative faith, so I realize that it was a bit of a bubble to be looking around in.  Alas, "we" have elected a president for a second term.  I pray that in his second term, he will be able to lead our nation to a better place than where we are now.  He can blame the last administration for the current problems, but the last administration is not in charge.  It's time to stop blaming and start doing.  Both sides.  All the way around, for the good of a nation.   

There are no perfect folks on either side of the political line, so I'm not pointing fingers or claiming perfection for a particular party. What bothers me about Election Day is that folks on Facebook or in the media speak as if one party has all the answers, and some people are downright nasty as they feel the need to teach you about the error of your ways (again, this is happening on both sides).  I was accused of representing Republicans as "class above" and "more civilized" than the Democrats.  This was from someone I don't even know responding to a comment I made on a conservative's friend's Facebook page, a truly benign comment.  On another friend's page where I simply agreed with her post and added a sentence, two different people that I don't even know jumped down my throat faster than I could hit "send" on my keyboard.  It was unbelievable.  Republicans may not have all the answers (and neither do the Democrats my friends), but we are entitled to opinions.  Is mud slinging and poisonous blame necessary?  Can we not be civilized in our conversation?  

We've been called a nation divided, and we are divided along political party lines.  This is exactly what the Adversary wants, and the divide and conquer strategy is a cunning, very covert, and very successful strategy.  However, I don't believe we are as divided as the the political lines show.  When it gets down to it, we all want the same things...freedom, family, faith and a strong foundation for our future generations.  I told a dear friend recently--who is on the other side of the political line from where I stand--that if God were running for president, I knew we would all be on the same side.  She agreed.  Oh how I wish there were a way that we could all be on the same side! It would be so much more productive.

We, our nation and its people, are headed in a direction, and it's no secret.  Any person of faith who has read the book of Revelations knows what's coming.  I do not wish the new administration ill.  I will pray for our President and for the decision makers in Washington no matter their party.  It does me no good to lament about a Democrat for president.  He is the president, and our family respects that (we keep our rants contained in the wall of our own home *snicker*).  But ultimately, my peace is found in knowing that the Lord is at the helm and we are on His timeline.  I have complete faith and trust that we are in His hands.  I am mildly worried, but preparing.  And while I'm preparing, I'll continue to be polite and respectful of my friends' feelings as well as those of perfect strangers.  We need to stick together folks!  Let's stop looking for the differences and start focusing on the similarities in our neighbors.  In the end, we citizens are going to have a lot more to do with strengthening this nation than we think we do, and we need to be prepared to do it together.