She Says It Better Than I Could...

As we welcome President Obama by Barbara Curtis
Friends, we have a new president. While he is not the president many of us wanted, he is the president God has given us.

I'm an optimist, which means I see the silver lining in every cloud. Yes, I know that's trite, but the reason cliches have a habit of sticking around is because they tend to hold true. For practical reasons - like having to run a house and raise a family - I cannot afford to wallow in discouragement and despair.

And then there's God's grace - which is the only thing I can credit for the fact that within minutes of having the election called for the candidate I worked tirelessly to defeat, I caught a glimpse of silver lining. And like any sensible person would, I grabbed it and followed it up to the clouds - to see things from a higher perspective.

And I saw that in this situation - though it was not what I would have chosen - there is much to be grateful for.

Let us be grateful that the election of our first African-American president has made so many of our countrymen happy. Let us not begrudge their celebration, and even if we don't feel like putting on our dancing shoes, let us see it through their eyes and feel the fullness of their hearts. Let us respond as the Bible has taught us - rejoicing with those who rejoice.

Let us pray that under President Obama's leadership we will finally see the end to the bitterness and hardness of hearts - on both sides - that has stood in the way of reconciliation and final healing for the sin of slavery. Conservatives voted for Sen McCain for political reasons, not because of racism. But we can all share in the pride at how far our country has come. May the reality of an African American family in the highest place of honor bring assurance to every person on Earth that in this regard the American spirit, with the grace of God, has triumphed over evil.

May we receive what many felt would be a catastrophe instead as an opportunity God has given us to let His light shine through the work He will do in our hearts - if we let Him.

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