Well, we did it. We voted. Some of us stood in line for hours. We stood in line in the rain and in the cold and in the sunshine. We stood in line before work, or on our lunch breaks, or right in the middle of our shifts. We stood in line with babies on our hips and kids around our feet. We stood in line with strangers and friends and neighbors we’ve never met. Across the entire United States of America, men and women just like us went (and are on their way) to the polling locations to cast their votes.
It has been a hard campaign season for all of us. We have had to struggle with our personal convictions and the unfortunate truths which surfaced…and whether or not we wanted to vote at all. We engaged in heated discussions through social media and around dinner tables and in office breakrooms. Lines were drawn and crossed in this election season that separated friends and relatives. We wondered how people we care about could feel so different than we do.
We cast our votes thinking of our children. We cast our votes thinking of ourselves. We cast our votes thinking about our nation.
And here on November 8th, 2016, we are all ready for it to be over. At least… I am. Maybe I’m the only one, but my guess is… we are all ready for whatever comes next… no matter what… or who… that might be.
So what do we do now? What do we do now that many of us have been so vocal and have felt so passionately about this election? What do we do now that we have cast our votes? It feels over, but we know it’s not. So we wait. We pray. We trust the One who has known the end of this from the beginning. And we choose to continue to love each other on purpose.
I said early on in this whole thing, “The greatest Hope we have is in the One who is still on the throne no matter who is in the White House, and the greatest power we have is to pray for God to move in the hearts of those in our nation… and our world… no matter who we elect as president.” We have to keep trusting that He is still working it all out for our good and His perfect plan will continue no matter what the TV tells us tonight.
Friend, at the end of this whole thing, we must remember that tomorrow we will all still live in this new America together. We will all still be neighbors, friends and relatives. We will still go to our jobs and our schools and our churches with people who might not share our same convictions. So no matter what happens next, we must commit to loving each other on purpose. We must commit to kindness. We must commit to compassion. We must commit to remaining in relationship with one another. Because we might have voted, and we might be waiting to see who wins, but we can determine our response to the outcome of this election even now. We can determine to wait, pray, trust, and love on purpose.
In a few short hours, this whole thing will be over. But really… it will just be beginning.
I’m not sure what your motivation was or who you voted for. But I can tell you what happens next with certainty. The sun comes up tomorrow and we keep working together toward a better America.
So much love, friends. Join me over on Facebook as we pray for our nation throughout the day today.
