Betsy for Christ '08

Last night was the first time I really watched the election results pour in; sitting in front of the computer and TV, seeing states turn blue and red. It was also the first time I was able to see people’s reactions in real time. Thanks to internet resources like Facebook and message boards, I observed some people descend to something akin to despair and others ascend to elation…

And then, as I lie in bed, I started thinking about voting. And how the polls closed in California and immediately the state was painted blue, while in Okalahoma it was painted red. How people may feel discouraged from voting in an election unless they live in a swing state. About how much one vote really “mattered.”

But then, I started thinking about the role of the government in my life and the lives of the people around me. A friend and I were talking about how the government is set up to (hopefully) protect the interests of the country… but how we are created to protect the interests of God’s heart.

And I was reminded of the votes that I cast every day that do matter.

I vote for love when I take the time to stop and listen to my niece when she’s having a bad day, when I look a stranger in the eye and ask how their doing, when I put the needs of a friend before my own.

I vote for justice when I take the time to see how the goods I am purchasing were made and work to ensure that no one else had to suffer so that I am comfortable.

I vote for peace when I write letters to governments and people in power asking them to intervene in situations that may feel outside my control.

I vote for grace when I display forgiveness to others and myself.

I know that too often I try and abdicate my responsibility as a Christ follower. To believe that somehow my country, President, church, family, etc, are the one’s who need to be “Christian” in order for the people in my life to see the love of God. But really, it’s me. I am the one whose actions are supposed to portray Jesus to those around me.

So, however people are feeling about the next president, hope, despondency, apathy; my personal mission doesn’t change: to love God and to love people.