Off to the Polls, at Last!

I'm about to head over to the local police department, which doubles as a place to cast a ballot. I intend to rejoice. We Americans are exercising our right to vote, and we should be smiling about that, shaking hands, laughing. No one is going to intimidate me as I approach the booth. No one will be guarding the door with a gun.

To my conservative friends, on the unlikely possibility that you will read this, don't be afraid. The Book of Revelation really does not say all that stuff about the anti Christ. It was just a stupid and uninformed email, okay? I'm old enough to remember about 8 or 9 candidates for the "office" of Anti Christ that caused consternation among "Bible believing Christians." God is still God, and God's people on both sides of the aisle, I hope, have been praying for Divine will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. If Obama wins, rejoice in the fact that a young man of color is in the White House! There is much to celebrate about that.

To my liberal friends, don't despair. McCain is not a blood thirsty war monger with fangs. I know, he said some things he should not have. But a man who endured what he did is not really likely to forget the cost of war. Just my two cents. And even if Palin scares you, you too can rejoice in the undeniable significance that a woman is elected to the second highest office in the country. There is also something to celebrate about that!

God is still on the throne.

It's an election. Promises made will be impossible to keep. The advertisements will end. McCain and Biden will go back to being buddies, as they have been for years. Obama is here to stay, no matter what the outcome. It is an exciting, historical, wonderful election.

Smile! And let's go vote. And let's stop name-calling, and the insane emails, and the fear mongering, and the hand-wringing despair. We are still one nation under God. I pray we can start acting like it!

P.S. People were smiling in the record-breaking warmth this a.m., enjoying the wait in line. I recall previous election days of standing in sleet, rain, and a bit of snow, so this morning was terriffic. Poll workers were efficient and helpful. McCain has made a gracious concession speech, and there was rejoicing in Chicago and elsewhere as Obama made an equally gracious acceptance speech. I'm off to bed.

God of All, please help us to remember that we are strangers and aliens in a world that is broken. Help us to reemember that our true home is with you, and until the day we are in your holy presence there will always be a sense of lack and incompleteness. Grant that the sense of lack will not make us apathetic but instead will encourage us to pray and to work and to seek that Your will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven. I pray that people of faith will stand together, pray together, worship together and link arms when we can. I pray for the Church of Jesus Christ to shine in these days when many are uncertain and afraid. Thank you that America has reached this milestone, and may it be a part of the racial healing that still needs to come to our land. Bless our new leader with wisdom and courage and insight. Draw him to yourself in whatever way needs to be. Protect him, and strengthen him for the difficult days that will be ahead. May your will be done. Amen