altered perspective

I probably shouldn't say a word about politics on my blog...but here I go. Actually, I am sobered tonight. Truthfully, I wasn't excited about either candidate and had a few top picks for a write-in and just almost did it when I voted! ha! :) I think there are some scary things about the outcome of the election, but the sovereignty of God is sweet in this circumstance as it is in every moment of life! Here's what I'm noticing, though, about how my perspective has changed since living among people of a different culture. There is a part of me that is deeply moved that an African-American became president tonight. When God talks about the sins of the fathers carrying on through generation after generation, He's not kidding. I see the ugly face of slavery's consequences in my 84-year-old neighbor who had to teach herself to read using her Bible because she was forced to quit school in the 7th grade. I sat on my front porch this afternoon and helped one of my 4th grade neighbors do his homework - it was English grammar that my children did in first grade and he came to me because his mom sent him to ask us when she didn't understand it. We deeply love and respect Martin Luther King, Jr. and all that he did to bring justice to a people who had rarely tasted it. I guess as I watched people weep on my t.v. screen tonight who had walked with King and who understood something that I have never walked through, I was just noticing that my thinking has changed quite a bit since living here in Como. (For those of you who are wondering, yes, we did vote for McCain). As I looked at the issues in this election, of course abortion was a major concern for me (just read "Children are a blessing"). In good conscience, I couldn't have voted for a pro-choice candidate. But I had the thought more than once that God is deeply offended by injustice. Abortion is unarguably a severe case of injustice against the innocent...so are the numerous injustices against the poor. Does He really hate one more than the other? And I have literally been blown away as many veils have been lifted over the past few years to see how the poor are oppressed. I never would have said this was true before I lived among them and saw that many of my judgments against the lower class (particularly the black lower class) were just plain uninformed and racist. As Jackie Pulinger says, "It's hard work being poor." I'm still working through much of this mostly because I'm just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of what it means to be poor in America, esp black and poor. Anyway, enough of my stream of consciousness. Here we are. I love that Jesus really is King. It takes so much of the devisive emotions out of this for me (which is a good thing since we have close friends who are believers, both black and white, that didn't vote the same way)! Our job (as always) is to pray for Obama now. God is good and God is on His throne and none of this came as a surprise to Him. My kids just learned the memory verse "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." That makes me want to say "woo-hoo!" I really love Him. I can't wait to be with Him forever with no interruptions by my own flesh and sin and the injustices that surround us! May His kingdom come NOW and may we await the "not yet" of His kingdom with hopeful joy!