Election Reflection

I can easily recall to mind some of the most significant events of modern American history. For example, I remember that cold winter morning in 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger horrifically exploded before our eyes on television. We were out of school that day because of severe winter weather. I remember mom waking me up that morning, excited about watching the shuttle launch. I remember her lying on the couch, watching the terrible replays, crying. I really didn't understand the significance of the event when I was 11 years old, but I better understand it now.

I remember what was perhaps America's finest moment in Olympic history when in 1996 Kerry Strug secured the gold for the US women's gymnastics team during the Atlanta games. There could not have been a better image of US endurance portrayed to the watching world than the American gymnast "sticking" the landing, even with an excruciating injury.

I remember where I was when I first learned of the terrorist attack on our country on 9/11.
Life as we knew it in this country was changed forever.

Tonight I watched another historic event in American history with the election of Barak Obama as president. I will always remember sitting in the living room at The Way Home late in the evening of November 4th, watching a landslide win unfold, witnessing what will certainly be published in future editions of American history books.

I won't likely remember how completely giddy Katie Couric was when she had the pleasure of announcing a new president-elect on CBS. I won't likely remember Oprah and Jessie Jackson being among the Chicago masses, both working up their best crocodile tears (Oprah shedding tears of happiness because she finally has her claws in the Whitehouse as Rev Jessie Jackson was sobbing because deep down he felt someone was stealing his thunder). I may not even remember the footage of citizens in Kenya dancing in the streets because the new American president has his ancestry in their country.

Just a few reflections on what I most likely will remember about watching thousands upon thousands of people in Chicago as they gathered to celebrate the victory and wait to hear from the president-elect...

I could not help but notice that as he eloquently made his victory speech, the masses of people gazed upon him in utter silence with either star-struck or painfully desperate eyes, almost as if they were longing for their savior to move among them. It just grieved me somewhere deep in my heart.

While it's true that I am disappointed in the election results, I know that no president can meet the needs of a desperate people or fulfill the expectations of a being elevated to a super-star. That is a role that can only be filled by Jesus Christ.

It occurred to me that whether I agree with the president-elect or not, I am to respect the office. I am to pray for this nation's leaders. I am to be salt and light in my own circle of influence. I am to love my neighbor.

Now more than ever.