DERAILED

I have fallen prey to the "Election Infection" even when I PROMISED myself I would stay out of it this time around. The intense emotions surrounding this 2016 election with TWO candidates that are failures, sinners, and dishonest adults (kinda just like me!) is creating a potentially fatal tear in the fabric of friendships and families. So my apologies to each of you I have already stepped all over this year during the election season. I tend to get a little passionate about things that I value and that trigger deep emotion within.

The topics are tough. If we are to believe the media, then Hilary lied about - well, about almost everything. People seem to be fine with that. Donald has cheated many people along the way over his years of business and hasn't been willing to share tax documentation or health records and now is abusive to poor innocent women. (Somewhat questionable on the innocent) and some people are fine with that. Hilary has a trail of crime that keeps following her around like a swarm of gnats. Donald has a circle of flying vultures over his head that waits for something or someone to die and then devour it/him. And some people are perfectly fine with that. AND both sides have people I love and admire on them.
Pastors, Leaders and people we look up to every day seem to be endorsing one or the other presidential candidate publically as we get closer to the actual election. The twitter feeds and facebook posts are in a competition over how many clicks each candidate can get and it's getting exhausting. Since the articles are distributed by organizations or leaders I feel I can trust, I read them - strangely they BOTH start out with things like "If Christians can even think about voting for __________, (some say Hilary and others say Donald) then they cannot be Christians", or something along those lines. Also, strangely disturbing is all the SILENT Christian leaders. Are they hoping it just goes away? Do they think by somehow lowering their heads they can avoid the entire conflict and condition this country is in? Some of them are pacifists and think war is never an option (seriously have they read the bible?). I've heard pastors talk about not speaking out. Well...what if Abraham Lincoln followed that advice or George Washington or Ronald Reagan? Wouldn't it instead be wiser to advise your circle of influence that if they felt God has called them to speak out - then speak out? If God calls you to be silent, then - well - be silent! But we can't all be silent and we can't all speak out. Reminds me of the I Cor. 12 passage that clearly spells out what different uses we have been designed for and duties to perform for the GOOD of the entire body. Can we consider we all may have different roles to play even as voters and influencers?
How quickly I forget when my own emotions are being toyed with and my convictions disagreed with, that I'm being tricked into playing into the infection. So how is it SO many Christians disagree on who they are supposed to vote for? We can't speculate which of them will keep their word or not. I don't believe that NOT voting is an option for me, way too many brave warriors have fought for that voting right and I won't abandon that privilege. But what if I did? Is that a wrong choice as a Christian? Some Christian scholars have also warned against voting for either candidate! "Write someone else's name in" they say, but isn't that like not voting at all? Talk about a true dilemma, a huge departure from everything Americans have ever known and loved. How did we derail so quickly? Is there even a way back?
If you're hoping for any words of wisdom that I claim God has shown me on this matter - sorry to disappoint you. I've got nothing. Nothing but my prayer time intentionally increased for this country, it's people, it's values and freedom. Franklin Graham does keep saying to PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! At first, this seemed too easy and "Christianese" for me. But the more I agonize over it all, the more I find myself needing to pray and seek to find my part in it all. And most importantly - how to maintain relationships along the way too.

I love my son - who has been given the intellect and voice to speak/write what he is convicted of in this election. The thing is - God uniquely wired him this way LONG before this year's election, and we've had the pleasure of watching him learn more, get more involved locally and we know he has the potential to make a REAL difference for his generation by staying involved. He has a specific call on his life, I believe, by God, in this arena to NOT be silent and to stay true to his convictions, even when it means he constantly will endure the criticism of others. (Which momma bear dislikes). I love my daughter - who has also been given wisdom and a sound mind to seek Him first over the two candidates but doesn't share with the world her feelings (like her mom does) and the thing is... I love and admire them BOTH so much and feel like they both are honoring God in how they are living out their convictions in such different ways. Is one of them right and one of them wrong? I don't think so, each is fulfilling what they were designed to do. What a joy to witness the body at work just like in I Cor. 12 with each part doing the thing it was designed to do. SO - a lesson for me from my children...I will be praying a lot MORE, I will be trying to find a balance between speaking out and staying silent and on the day I walk into that booth, I want to have poured over the decision so long in prayer and searching of my heart, that I can confidently cast my vote and walk away thanking the Lord that He is in control, no matter what boxes I just marked. Vote wisely! But DO VOTE! :)