So.
How could I possibly journal our time here in Kuwait without mentioning such a historical election.
I have a few things to say.
Actually, that's a lie. I have a million things to say.
But I'm going to try and limit it to a few.
Because I've tried to talk things out with people of opposing views in the days prior to the election, and in the days since, and it's rarely fruitful.
People feel the way they feel, and there is no convincing them otherwise.
Me included.
My most recent conversation went like this...
I lamented to a co-worker that I was so disappointed Trump had won the election, and
I have a few things to say.
Actually, that's a lie. I have a million things to say.
But I'm going to try and limit it to a few.
Because I've tried to talk things out with people of opposing views in the days prior to the election, and in the days since, and it's rarely fruitful.
People feel the way they feel, and there is no convincing them otherwise.
Me included.
My most recent conversation went like this...
I lamented to a co-worker that I was so disappointed Trump had won the election, and
her response was "I just don't think he's really who the media portrays him to be!"
I just stared at her, blinking, like a pigeon.
"But...it's not the stories I've read or media recounts that I have a problem with..." I tried to explain..."...it's the direct quotes that I've heard from his mouth with my own ears or things I've watched him do with my own eyes...like mock the disabled reporter, to name just one..."
And she brushed that off as a media spin.
So, we were going to have to disagree.
Today, I'm choosing to focus on the positives of it all. One being that America is a democracy. We get to vote.
Even overseas!
Two being that I have enjoyed the conversations I've been able to have with people from different countries about this election. I was discussing my disappointment in the election with a coworker from Egypt, and she was remarking how lucky we are to have a history of a peaceful transition of power.
She's so right. I mean, look at Egypt's political history, even in the last five years.
Living in Kuwait has afforded me the opportunity to be surrounded by people from all over the globe, and I've become fascinated with how their countries differ from mine.
We as Americans are blessed.
I was so shocked when the official tally was in, and my computer screen looked like this:
But I'm grateful we have the right and ability to vote, and I'm grateful we have rules in place for term limits.
For me, for now, what it all comes down to is these two things:
(an exert from The ScrewTape Letters by C.S. Lewis)
And she brushed that off as a media spin.
So, we were going to have to disagree.
Today, I'm choosing to focus on the positives of it all. One being that America is a democracy. We get to vote.
Even overseas!
Two being that I have enjoyed the conversations I've been able to have with people from different countries about this election. I was discussing my disappointment in the election with a coworker from Egypt, and she was remarking how lucky we are to have a history of a peaceful transition of power.
She's so right. I mean, look at Egypt's political history, even in the last five years.
Living in Kuwait has afforded me the opportunity to be surrounded by people from all over the globe, and I've become fascinated with how their countries differ from mine.
We as Americans are blessed.
I was so shocked when the official tally was in, and my computer screen looked like this:
But I'm grateful we have the right and ability to vote, and I'm grateful we have rules in place for term limits.
For me, for now, what it all comes down to is these two things:
(an exert from The ScrewTape Letters by C.S. Lewis)
May God reveal to me the work that needs to be done in me.
And second,
Jen Hatmaker posted this back in March, and it made me cry when I read it the first time, and makes me cry again today...
No matter what happens these next six months then the four-year term after, WE STILL DO THE WORK, good friends. We love, we include, we protect, we intervene, we defend, we champion. Honestly? In Christian terms, the kingdom of Jesus - truly good news for every human, especially the vulnerable - has never advanced from the top down. Ever. It has always and will always come from the bottom up. It exists in neighborhoods and around dinner tables, in sanctuaries and in safe spaces. It will not be mastered by cruel leadership, it will not be silenced by fear-mongering.
It lives and breathes through ordinary people loving in brave, ordinary ways. It lives when we stand up and say NO. When we choose courage over silence. When we open our arms and open our homes to people we are led to fear.
No one can take this work from us. No one can do this work for us. It is ours. If we are facing a day in which minorities, women, refugees, Muslims, immigrants, and vulnerable people are openly vilified and threatened, then we roll up our sleeves and stand by them in strength and courage. We use the good voices we've been given and demonstrate a credible witness to the kind of Savior we serve: the one who loved every sort of unfairly outcasted and rejected person despite the leadership of His day. We become an army of love in the name of Jesus and in honor of the beautiful life He lived to set us all free.
This has always been our task, and now we simply engage with renewed commitment.
My marching orders as a Christian have not changed. May I do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God.
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