Changes in the Wind - a new President

Tuesday is the big day - one of the miracles in our country is that every four years, we, the people, get the chance to choose who will lead our nation. The blessing is that it occurs peacefully with predictability and stability. There are many parts of the world where political change comes abruptly without warning and violently. We may not always like the change, but we know that in four years, we have another opportunity to elect either the same leader or a new one.

When I was in high school, I had a teacher, Mrs. Matherly. She was a democrat, I think she would qualify as a yellow dog democrat - she always voted Democrat. However, once the election was over, whether her candidate won or not, the new president was HER president.

I voted for Obama, the first time that I EVER voted for a Democrat for President. But I have neighbors, friends and family who thought McCain was the better choice. We must remember that we all look at things from different and often equally valid points of view. There is no one "right" way to solve the problems that currently face our nation. Many ideas, many possibilities, many hopes and dreams . . . But regardless of who I voted for . . . I want our new President to be successful, I want him to have a strong presidency, I want him to do good and great things for our country. I am going to be optimistic about the future.

I want to see less partisan politics and more working together for the good of our great country. I want to see statesmanship and wisdom from the President and the members of Congress. 2009 is a year when our economy is fragile and weak, there is a lot of political unrest and instability in important countries around the world. Our leaders are probably going to need to make some tough and unpopular choices to get our economy turned around. I hope that they are strong enough, courageous enough, honest enough, and wise enough to make choices that will in the long term be good for our nation.

The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders. It tells us that ultimately all rulers are put in place by God. Do all world leaders do wonderful, great things . . . no. Do we have men and women who end up in positions of power and authority who use it for evil, yes . . . Do I understand God's plan when I read about the violence, the poverty, and disease that exist around the world . . .no. But I do believe in a God who lives among us - who sees our daily struggles, who is aware of the turmoil in the world, and who does respond when people pray to Him.

So I am going to pray for not only President Obama, but for the Senators and Representatives, the Governors, the rulers overseas. I'm going to pray for wisdom, good judgement, peace, and prosperity for all the political leaders around the world. Then I will trust God both when these politicians do things I approve of and when they make choices that I think are the wrong choices.