Election (the voting kind) and Sticking it Out
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 3:11PM For the last week or so, I've gone a little short on sleep (even shorter than usual). The election, which shall be known for the rest of my life as the Ulcer Election, has been making me jittery, prone to waking up multiple times during the night, with tossed bedding and racing thoughts, after frenetic and troubling dreams. For me, this election was not just about rooting for one team over another; it was about whether this country would be a place where I would be willing to admit living.
It wasn't until the results became clear that I realized the stakes were equally high for some of those who were in favor of the other candidate. I feel so strongly about some issues in this election that it's nearly impossible to put myself in the shoes of those who disagree just as strongly, but I do understand that sinking feeling in the gut when you realize that the worst case scenario has just come true. I understand what it's like to look around and wonder, "How can people who think that way be part of the same world I'm in, let alone country?" I relate to the befuddlement, consternation, concern, and perhaps even terror over the fact that certain candidates can get even one vote, let alone win an entire election.
Man and woman alive, have I been there!
It strikes me that we're having a similar problem in the denomination these days. The fact is that sometimes we don't just disagree with each other. Sometimes we are utterly baffled by what each other think. Sometimes we seem to be living on different planets of thought. Sometimes we are embarassed by the very idea of sharing a Church with one another, and terrified that the whole Church will be discredited by the way those different from us are practicing their Christianity.
Sometimes sticking together seems as painful and pointless as trying to share this country between Red and Blue.
Well, we stick together as a country for many reasons, not the least of which is that we have a joint claim on the land. It would be impractical if not impossible to separate us out from one another. We are bound together, and here we stay, regardless of who is president.
I don't know how this will work out, but when I start to lose hope that we will ever be able to stick together as a denomination, I have to remind myself - what binds us together is even greater than land or law or president. We, too, are woven together, inseparable even in our strongest attempts, by Christ.
RCA