Monday, November 3, 2008

Dreams from His Grandmother

Senator Obama's grandmother passed away before she could see if he would be the next president of the the United States of America. I can only imagine how proud she must have been of him.

I've been pondering all day who I should vote for. Even though I'm leaning toward Obama, I'm still unsure. I consider myself an independent. I don't have an allegiance to any political party, I simply consider the options and vote for the best person. So who is the best person for our country? Who should our leader be? There are things about all the candidates that make me uneasy (yes, there are more than two). And it's always been that way when it comes to politicians. It's hard to decipher who's really telling the truth.

What I do know is that if Obama wins, a part of me will be happy, ecstatic even. The world will see us differently and I will see my country differently. A piece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream will have came true.

I also know that our struggle is not against Republican or Democrat but against "the forces and powers of a dark world." We see that darkness everyday in the images that flash across our TV screen of children going to bed without food, of women being sold into sex trafficking, of children being kidnapped and people being murdered.

When it all comes down to it my vote is for love. My vote is goodness and kindness. My vote is for faith and hope. My vote is for art and creativity that inspires us to reach for more, to be more and to give more.

This world is not my eternal home even though I've lived here for 25 years. There are a million things I love about this planet like sunsets, beaches, hot cocoa and great conversations. But there's more to life than what the eyes can see and what the fingers can touch. The USA is a great country and I support its efforts to offer people a fair place to live and carve out their niche.

I get all my dreams about the goodness of humanity from my Heavenly Father. And whoever you chose to vote for, think about Jesus and how he did things that went against popular opinion, against the religious people who thought they knew it all. He understood that there was more to life than what's written on money and who's in office. All people mattered to him. They still do.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well said. I really wanted to vote for Obama, but at the end of the day his views just don't line up well enough with mine. That being said, I would be lying if I said I won't feel a little bit of satisfaction if he wins tomorrow.

Serenity said...

This was very well said. A beautiful post. I feel a bit undecided still as well. I know that I will vote with my heart tomorrow. And I hadn't thought of it this way, but that's exactly how I will feel if he wins.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that Obama had his priorities and visited with his grandmother recently. Some people, not in his party critisized him. But anyone with a heart and soul knew he was doing the right thing.

Ritzy said...

Good post missy. I too struggled with this, but at the end of the day God is in control regardless. May His will be done.

I just hope people vote.

It doesn't matter who wins, as a follower of Christ, our job is to make disciples of the nation no matter who's in office. It's up to us, as individuals, to be the change we desire to see.

Anonymous said...

I didn't vote for Obama because McCain is actually a friend of mine and has been for years. Unfortunately for him, the U.S. didn't really get to see the real John McCain via his campaign... Not to mention the fact that Bush didn't even leave him table scraps to work with... LOL.

On the other hand...

I am just as proud of my country for electing Obama because NOW -- once and for all, you can no longer say it can't be done.

I hope people find inspiration in this election and develop that same initiative, motivation and drive to do SOMETHING with their life because NOW, the only excuse you have is staring at you from the other side of the mirror.

Unk

Anonymous said...

http://www.jesusforpresident.org/index2.html - check out this book…I think you would like it!

what a historical election - I am glad I was able to see it!

Karen said...

Thanks for all the great comments everyone! When it came down to it I voted for Obama. It was the last thing I filled out on my ballot but I said a little prayer then I colored in the circle for him.

Tracy H said...

I just can't align my Christian beliefs with Obama's abortion views. He gets a 100% positive rating from Planned Parenthood - one of the biggest evils in our nation. God is the one who creates life, and no one has the right to take it away. Especially helpless babies in the womb. Obama is for partial birth abortion. Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue.

The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:

A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps. (Remember this is a live baby)

B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.

C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.

D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.

E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse.
The dead baby is then
removed.


God help him.

Hamster said...

I think a narrow focus on abortion misses the bigger picture about right to life

I have always wondered how we can be dead set against the taking of an unborn innocent life, yet shrug our shoulders when thousands of innocent lives are sacrificed in war.

The other day I was reading about the Air strikes in Afghanistan that were taking a lot of innocent lives and creating a lot of outrage in the region.
Apparently the U.S. military has rules in place that permits the killing of civilians in air strikes if they think they have zero’d in on a “high valued target” ,
The magic number was 30. That means that if a air attack was expected to kill over 30 innocent civilians , the air strike had to be approved by top brass. Under 30…no need for permission.

I think if I ask many Christians “Doesn’t that outrage you?”, many will just shrug their shoulders and say, “It’s unfortunate, but in war bad things happen.”

Perhaps the issue of abortion, capitol punishment and war its not a matter of right or wrong. It’s not a matter of what the Bible says. It’s not the issue of “taking the lives of innocent beings.”

Abortion ..wrong
Killing in war…right
Suicide …wrong
Capitol Punishment.. right

We live by the rules we feel comfortable with.

Even though we are not always consistent:

Tracy H said...

Dear Hamster,

Where did you read about this "magic number" of 30? Was it an article in a magazine? If so, which one? I would like to verify the source and read it for myself. Is this an official U.S. military policy? Or is this based on hearsay? It may be true, but I don't blindly take things as the truth without some proof. There are a lot of falsehoods floating around out there, especially on the internet.

P.S. "Capitol" Punishment is a Megadeth album. On the other hand, capital punishment is not the taking of innocent life. It is reserved for those found guilty under the law for certain heinous crimes only. In the Bible, those who were guilty were often put to death according to God's Law.

And, I would never shrug my shoulders at the taking of any innocent life, whether it be foreign civilians or our brave men and women soldiers. Any president who sends our military into battle must wrestle with the cause vs. the possible/probable loss of our soldiers' lives. Barack Obama will have this responsibility as president, just as all presidents before him.

Karen said...

My Christian views don't align with anyone's stance on pro-abortion or population control. I don't agree with Obama's views when it comes to Planned Parenthood and I think it's pretty safe to say that most Christians don't either. But most Christians I know were equally unhappy with Bush getting our country into a war with Iraq and all the lives that it has cost us so far plus all the funding it has taken away from more important things like education.

I can't remember a time when I agreed 100% with any politician. That's part of why God asks us to pray for our leaders. They have to make some tough decisions and compromises to get at their level.

Tracy H said...

Solshine,

Obama is The Most liberal senator which can be seen through his voting record. I really don't think he has had to make some hard choices. He has voted pro choice in every instance. There is no middle ground or centerist thinking for Barack Obama. His true beliefs show through in how he votes as the most liberal senator. That is why I did not support him or vote for him as president. He has said that if one of his daughters were ever to make a mistake and become pregnant that he would not want them to be "punished" with a baby. He did not even use the term fetus or tissue blob. He used the word "baby".

Karen said...

Tracey,

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'm glad you went out and voted even if it wasn't for Barack Obama. I was never heralding either candidate, although when it came down to it I voted with Obama but not without reserve. He's liberal, there's no doubt about that but people are more complex than those labels. I'm willing to give him a chance to make some positive changes in our society, but come four years if the country isn't satisfied with his work, we get the opportunity to pick another president and that's the cool thing about a democracy.