DON'T BE SHAKEN...

From the look of my FB newsfeed, many of my peeps seem to be in various stages of meltdown over the 2020 election. Completely understandable. I mean, right in the middle of a pandemic and a Lysol shortage while coping with Seasonal Anxiety Disorder due to losing a much needed hour of sunlight we get hit with a steaming hot pile of election horsecrappery.

It seems we are no longer simply divided by our politics. Nope. The dysfunction and disorder of our respective parties has caused us to retreat into various groups identifiable by our particular method(s) for coping with this plethora of crises. Without undermining the complexity of such choices (and with apologies for any erroneous assumptions based on your meme game) I have clearly identified at least 5 separate-though-not-mutually-exclusive groups:

GROUP 1: People who are pissed off and polishing their muskets for Civil War Deux

GROUP 2: People who are riddled with anxiety and have retreated into a dark room with a weighted blanket to watch Hallmark Christmas movies

GROUP 3: People who seem to be taking things in stride but are quickly running out of wine and/or carbs

GROUP 4: People who are unfazed because they know the government is not designed to represent us but to control us, therefore we're just electing new zookeepers

GROUP 5: People who are steadfast in faith and focused on heaven

Personally? I find myself vacillating between Group 3 & Group 5. My COVID-15# is quickly expanding to ELECTION-20# and I don't even care because it just makes sense to bulk up in preparation for Armageddon, amiright? That extra 3000 calories a day could be the difference in a bayonet hitting a vital organ. Or not.

Sometimes, when I'm low on carbs, I sink into moments of pissiness (Group 1). Though I am not an advocate of another civil war OR muskets (or bayonets), I admit to having thoughts of inflicting wrathful vengeance on... others. Nothing that would leave a scar or cause them to go into the hospital because that could mean taking a bed away from a COVID patient and I would really go to hell for that but seriously... would it be so wrong to line up a bunch of elected officials and give 'em a good shin kicking?? Do they really think we're THIS stupid? We have witnessed with our very eyes the amazing technology of lunar landings and shuttle splashdowns. More importantly, we have benefited from the clockwork precision of Chick-fil-A workers to deliver our orders the minute we pull up to the window. SO WHY THE HECK CAN'T THEY FIGURE OUT HOW TO COUNT VOTES ON ELECTION DAY?!

Sheesh.

Then, I take a deep breath and open my Bible (Group #5) and just like that... perspective and sanity returns. There is nothing like being in the Word to remind me that groups and political parties and choosing sides is not important. It's not up to me to tell Jesus whose side He should be on. All I need to be sure of is that I am on His side. Cause if we think things are in a mess now... just wait until Jesus REALLY starts shaking things up. Know what's gonna happen then?

Only the things which cannot be shaken will remain. (Hebrews 12:27)

Don't be shaken, y'all. Turn your TV off. Grab a cookie and get in the Word.

Something Bigger Than Ourselves

Y'all, I met a bona fide purple-hearted World War II hero today. He made me cry.

As I was poking my nose into his past medical history, asking an endless list of personal questions, I noticed a veteran's hat lying on the table by his chair. The hat was worn and faded, but unmistakably notable for the WWII and Iwo Jima insignia.

I pointed toward the hat and said, “Thank you for your service, sir.” He ducked his head and drawled out a polite “Thank you, ma'am.”

His wife, who had been listening quietly, began to share a bit of this remarkable man's war history... stories of how he risked his life to save his comrades even as he watched others die. I was moved beyond words.

I knelt beside his chair and without thinking, covered his thin, wrinkled hand with mine. Only then did I remember I was wearing gloves. And a mask. And a gown. I realized how unapproachable I looked in all my COVID-protected glory and wondered if our upside down world seemed unrecognizable and strange to this 90-plus year old gentleman. Since he could not see my smile, I poured all the thankfulness from my heart into my eyes as I tried to express my gratitude for his service and heroism. Both our eyes filled with tears. I sniffled through my mask and said, “I can only imagine the full-length movies playing through your mind. After all you have seen and experienced, how can you reconcile the current craziness going on in America?”

He looked away for a moment then said, “It was different back then. We were simply young men doing our job for our country. It was about something bigger than ourselves.”

Something Bigger Than Ourselves.

They are known as the “Greatest Generation”. Men and women who fought not for fame or recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do."

They are the generation who fought a World War and survived the Great Depression. They were self-sacrificing, hardworking, God-fearing, disciplined and unwaveringly patriotic. They took time to write real letters (in cursive) and read real books with pages. This generation shared a clearly defined sense of right and wrong. They believed in Baseball, Mom & Apple Pie (made without artificial sweeteners).

Somehow in the intervening years between heroes risking lives in the Pacific Theater to today's Facebook pictures showing boarded windows in troubled cities anticipating election day riots... We the People have lost our way.

I don't know who will win tomorrow but I'm absolutely sure a very flawed sinner will be voted into the oval office, just as we - a similarly flawed electorate - have done for over 230 years.

That's why my hope has never been in Air Force One, but in The One Who Sits On The Throne.

[God’s heavenly throne is eternal, secure, and strong, and His sovereignty rules the entire universe. Psalm 103:19 ]

As believers, our true citizenship does not belong to this world. Before this nation was ever imagined, Jesus knew we would never get it right. That's why He promised us a New Kingdom.

So, while we wait for our King to return, we can waste precious time in endless fights over an elusive 'higher ground'... or we can love each other beyond political ideology and let Jesus make bridge builders of us all.