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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Election Reflection from a Peace-loving Patriot



I stayed in bed for a long time this morning, feeling the need for comforting hugs from people who share my sentiments. I felt alone, yet connected to far-away friends whom I know are also saddened and concerned for our future. I'd had a good cry as the election results rolled in last night.

At the same time, I'm aware that many of my friends (people close to me, who I care deeply about) would have likewise sobbed had my candidate won. I have to admit, there's a part of me that's happy for their happiness, because I know how happy I would be feeling right now....

I wasn't ready to post the following (very short) article last night (see link at the end). I couldn't completely wrap my heart around Margaret’s final note: "...It's going to take all of us, together..." How can people with such differing views work together to accomplish seemingly different goals? And yet, I know we all love our country. That's why we vote. I truly believe we all want "liberty and justice for all" (we just have different ideas on how to go about it).

As the hours tick away from last night's election and my emotions settle, I'm reminded of something: Yes, I love my country. I confess to being a (gasp!) patriot. But there's something I love with greater fierceness: the people of the world. Jesus didn't die for Americans; he bled for people of every "tribe, tongue and nation." He had the people of Greece, Iran and Pakistan in mind when he hung on the Cross. It was for the love of Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Pelosi, Bush, Reagan, Obama, Romney and Bogdan that He laid down his right to live.

Back to the question: Can we work together to turn this country around? I’m not sure. I’ll certainly keep doing my own part to try. But one thing I am sure of: we can love together. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Love gets things moving in the right direction. I have to believe that as we seek to love each other, we may find ourselves working together to give this country hope, one person at a time.

2 comments:

Margaret Feinberg said...

"Jesus didn't die for Americans; he bled for people of every "tribe, tongue and nation."" --so true! Thanks for calling us to something higher today!

Faith Bogdan said...

And thank you too, Margaret! <3