Two critically important topics today: vote and pray.
(I couldn’t help myself with the dystopian line. Effie Trinket’s voice popped into my head the instant I woke up this morning and I find it very fitting. I digress… sort of.)
Vote
First, if you are an eligible voter in the United States and have not yet cast your ballot, please do so. It’s a civil duty that protects our voice as a people by also being a civil right.
A quick note about lines: expect them to be longer than usual because people are spacing out due to the coronavirus pandemic. Don’t let a line deter you. The line I was in seemed daunting, but I received my ballot in ten minutes.
Pray
This has been on my heart a lot recently. There is so much unrest in our country, and people are concerned with who the next head of the federal executive branch will be and what that will mean for our country. Division is at an all-time high, and many of us are literally afraid to have open discourse with our neighbors because of fear of retribution for having an opinion someone dislikes. The presidential election will turn one way or another, and about half of the country will feel unwelcome here – though hopefully not for long. The American spirit has shown a fantastic ability to rebound and reconnect, and I hope and pray we can do so again.
Vigil
The church I attended is hosting a Eucharistic Adoration and prayer vigil today to pray for all candidates and our country as a whole. Regardless of who wins, we need to come back together an eschew this era of hatred and vitriol. What better way to do that than through the common cause of praying for our candidates and our nation? Someone will win, and we will want that person to do the best that they can for our country because that bodes well for the country and, in turn, bodes well for us.
If you can carve out the time and have a place to congregate with neighbors to pray for the candidates and the country, please do so. Pray without ceasing. Pray for the outcome to be God’s will, and for the strength to carry on whatever God’s will may be.
“But what if my candidate doesn’t win?”
I admit to being concerned about this myself. Specifically, between the riots and the cancel culture, I fear we are descending the depths into darkness. I had a t-shirt when I was a teenager that said: “THINK: it’s not illegal yet,” and I’m actually concerned about my physical safety due to the contentiousness of this election simply because I refuse to follow the narrative. I’ve spent the majority of my voting life stumping for a third-party (any third party) and third-party candidates because I realized that eventually we would end up in an over-the-top contentious situation and believed that a viable third party would be the best deterrent to it. Well, here we are: hiding in our little corners because we’re afraid of our neighbors.
Think about that.
I moved mid-pandemic for work, so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to meet my new neighbors. One of my neighbors has a very bark-y dog. I met her briefly, and she said his bark is worse than his bite (though it would be difficult for the bite to be much worse – that bark is fierce, let me tell you!). Another of my neighbors (the household, as there are several) generally doesn’t pay attention to what is going on in the world around them as their phones are way more interesting. Another of my neighbors is fabulous (we get along swimmingly and I am utterly blessed to know them). And of course, we had some trick-or-treaters for Halloween (though not many). I only have the most cursory look into the lives of the people around me, and they’re good, decent folks. So why are we demonizing each other?
The best thing about a federalist system is that, regardless of who wins a national election, the local authorities have the most say over our daily lives. If there is a problem, we can talk with our neighbors to solve it. We know that our neighbors are good people overall, so even though we haven’t met various people in distant states, we know that we can work with the people in our immediate vicinity.
Trust in God’s Will
It is more vital than ever to appeal to God and ask for His will to be done and to pray for His help for us to want God’s will. That first one we do all the time, right? But that second one… Man, why can’t God just will what I want instead of making me seek Him, right?
I have been struggling with today’s election for months: who to vote for, what would happen if this candidate won or that candidate won, what I would have to change about my own day-to-day life in either situation. There are certain areas I avoid at work (generally, conversation topics that may be remotely tangentially related to politics) because I am afraid of losing my job for having an unpopular opinion. (I hold many opinions; some of them are bound to be unpopular.) As though life isn’t stressful enough!
When I catch anxiety rising, the best counter I have is a very simple prayer:
God, please help me to trust in Your will.
I found myself saying it some time ago when I was starting to have trouble breathing because of the scenarios playing out in my head. I don’t know where I heard it from originally, but I find great solace in it. Now, when my mind starts to take off on me about how bad the situation in the country will probably be under a certain candidate, I repeat this simple prayer asking God to trust Him and His will.
God wants what is best for us. God allows us to make decisions, and part and parcel to that is living with the consequences, but God wills the best for us. Sometimes you have to go through tumult and strife to become the best person you can be; if you are suffering, look to God and ask how it fits into the grand picture. Ultimately, God loves us dearly, and He acts accordingly. If God loves us more than we could possibly love ourselves, what have we to fear?
I want to leave you with a Bible verse. The first line I seek often, and the context of the following lines is all the more essential on days like today.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
– Proverbs 3:5-6
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make straight your paths.
God bless you, and God bless America.
