yesterday, today, & forever.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8

After mere hours of sleep, the blaring of my alarm was not welcome this morning.  I smiled to myself as I opened my Bible app through squinted eyes, to read this verse of the day.  Plain and simple, this is where our hope rests.  We can trust in the fact that He knows and holds our future.  That didn't change yesterday or today.  The results of the election have no bearing on the One in whom we trust.

I secretly love Election Day - I always have.   There's an excitement in the air.  Being able to exercise your right to vote is an incredible privilege and one I've never taken lightly.  Every two years I take my children with me to the polling station so they can witness this democratic process firsthand.  Oftentimes the poll workers will generously give them a sticker that they proudly wear.  Of course you didn't vote if there's no photo evidence, so naturally we take a photo.  I'll stay up to the wee hours of the morning to watch the results, flipping back and forth from one news station to the next.  Without a doubt, I'm excited to see who wins, but ultimately this doesn't take away my hope.  There may be disappointment, yes, but God is still on the throne.  

This election has been one for the books.  It seems we have all felt the weight of it, even if we've tried to escape it.  It has felt larger than life with such strong opinions and thoughts on both sides, with both seemingly fearful of the opposing side's victory.  On the day after the election, many have been waiting for it to just be over.  Even still, our nation hangs on edge, waiting for a decisive winner.

I do not love talking politics or expressing my viewpoints unless the conversation is beneficial and can be had in love.  I feel like there's a time and place and more often than not, expressing those beliefs on public platforms will have no bearing on swaying someone's opinion.  In fact, it seems to do the opposite and play into the divisiveness that so heavily weighs on our nation.  A person's political stance or religious beliefs should not change our opinion or love for our neighbors.  I've never loved labels, as labels create presuppositions.  Preformed opinions.  Discord, without choosing to hear or see one another.  Rather, I want to know the person.  I'll be the first to admit that wasn't always the case.  I did have preformed opinions and viewpoints based on my background, upbringing, education, ignorance, etc.  After having lived a lot of life and experienced things I never thought I'd experience, my heart and mindset has shifted.  I so often pray for ears to hear and eyes to see.  I want to hear and see others around me, just as I want to be seen and heard.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself".  Plain and simple.  The question we can all ask is do my actions show the love of God and do they show love to my neighbor?  Talk about a heart check.  Are my conversations, my Facebook posts, and my daily interactions bringing glory to God, or exhibiting my sin nature and my possibly flawed opinions?    

Now more than ever, I know that He is in control.  Despite what I might want or what I might have thought, His ways are higher than my own.  The more time I spend restless or anxious of the things that are out of my control, the more I am distracted from what is.  He is.  He was.  He will be.  Perhaps the best thing we can do is strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  Let us love God and love others, in our words and in our actions.  And may we rest in knowing the One who holds it all, even this election.