I've Been Crying All Day

I'm sure that there are many of you in the blog-land who are celebrating today with what seems to be the entire world over the election of the first black president of the US. If that is you, then you may want to stop reading this blog right now and go on to happier posts by happier bloggers.

I'm not happy today. In fact, today I am grieving. This is a deep, deep sadness. I've never, ever felt this sad about an election in the 37 years that I've been able to vote. I've been mad about elections, disappointed about elections, apathetic about elections. But I've never been sad about an election. My sadness is on several levels.

1. I'm sad that because of his stand on some issues I couldn't vote for the first black man to run for president. The most overwhelming of these is the issue of the murder of the unborn. In some ways this election was a vote on this issue. At least for me and others who have fought the atrocity of abortion for so long. This is a historically significant event in our nation's history. I can rejoice that we have come so far since the segregated days of my childhood. But I am grieving for the babies whose lives mean so little to so many and to our coming president.

2. I'm sad that so many voted for a man who they know so little about. I could be wrong, but it looks to me like he was elected mainly because he is black. Because how cool and enlightened is it that we are able to vote for and elect a black man in a country that had slavery until 140 years ago? He was swept in on a tide of needing to prove to ourselves that it could be done. Nothing else seemed to matter - his stance on abortion, his stance on Marxism, his radical associations. The fawning of Obama's followers was embarrassing. The media never met a candidate they loved more. We as a nation seem to be in love with ourselves and how "open-minded" we are now. Am I wrong to think that this is also racism?

3. I'm sad that we seem to have come to a tipping point in our country. The tipping is away from the traditional values that I tried to raise my children with and that I believe are scripturally based. The slide started years ago in the early adult years of my generation. Since then the shift toward an increasingly Godless society has accelerated every year. This year, I fear, marks the tipping year. It seems that there are now more who prefer a Godless America than there are who truly fear God and reverence His word and statutes. I am partly to blame for the slide. I will forever regret the part I played in disrespecting the values passed down to us from the generations before us. Youth is a wonderful time of life. But as I've learned from experience, wisdom belongs to those who have lived life. If I had known then what I know now! Sadly, it seems that when we are young, the wisdom of our elders looks like foolishness. It seems like each generation has to learn from their own mistakes. That makes me very sad for my children and future grandchildren and the young people who I lift before the LORD daily.

4. I am sad because I believe that the LORD chastises His people and gives them over to the desires of their hearts to their great peril. Oh LORD have mercy on us! We are a people who have sinned greatly against You and have disregarded your precepts and statutes. Do not lose patience with us. We love you LORD and we trust in You and your redemptive power. There is no way that we can go wrong that You cannot redeem. Teach us to love each other the way you do. Teach us to love the things that You love and to hate the things that You hate.

I am sad today. Very sad. I can't even think of anything today that makes me smile -

- unless it is my loving husband, my beautiful daughters and niece, my wonderful son-in-love, my sweet nephew-in-law, my great-nieces, my sweet heart-daughter Nikki, my adopted grand-boys, and my dear sisters and brothers in the Spirit. These make me smile today and every day.

My joy is from the LORD and it is a joy that no event in this life can touch. We have a new president today. I commit to pray for him and his family and for our nation because it is commanded that we do so and because God changed my heart and I know that HE can change others' too. I commit to pray for President Obama because he is the president of all of us. May God bless him and all of us too.