So in our nation, it feels like anxiety and suppressed emotion are building up like steam in an old locomotive engine ahead of the election. Whether spoken or unspoken, it’s as if people are holding their breath waiting to see if their “ideology” or the “enemy ideology” wins the election. If the tension that seems to be floating in the air is any indication, no matter how all the political races end, a whole bunch of people are going to be catastrophically disappointed and a whole bunch of others are going to be happy — I think.

The human temptation (if one ends up on the “winning” side), is to whoop, holler and gloat with excessive celebration. On the other hand, if one ends up on the “losing” side, the temptation is to weep, wail and (according to recent trends) lash out in violent frustration. Some of the pent-up emotion is the result of this grueling election war we have all watched in the media for months. Some is the result of being held hostage by an oppressive pandemic for almost 7 months. Some is the result of personal oppression that has spanned years.

Regardless of the cause, it might be wise of us to anticipate the opening of the emotional flood gates and pray in advance for God to enable all of us to respond to election outcomes with grace, compassion and self-control. If our candidate wins, perhaps we could plan to be sensitive to those around us whose candidate didn’t, guarding our words and Facebook posts? Perhaps if our candidate doesn’t win, we could hold onto the truth that there is NO political leader who is equipped to step in and fix all that is broken in any people group, be it local or national. God already sent the world a Savior and His name is neither Donald nor Joe, but Jesus. He is not hanging around with a physical presence anymore, but the Spirit of Jesus is alive and well — and those of us who claim to follow Him are called to be His hands and feet here. The song says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

To my friends…Christian or not or unsure…(which include those of widely varying skin color and political ideologies, btw) — I am a sister in Christ and/or friend to you before I am in any way political. After the election dust settles, I will continue working behind the scenes to bring blessing to you where I can. I will continue to pray for you and be a friend to you.

Hoping compassion is contagious…