Emotional Evening...Emotional Morning

Last night was a night of high emotion...all across our country.  From the extatic gathering in Chicago to the solemn gathering outside Phoenix.  It's been a long campaign and it's now over.  As Senator McCain delivered his concession speech, I was proud of a man who has so valiantly served our country for years and will continue to do so with his head held high.  As I listened to Senator Obama's speech, I was proud of a man who rose from a position of nothing to the highest office in the world.  I was proud of my country, not because we elected Barack Obama as our 44th President, but because we are able to elect an African-American to be our president.  My pride for my country doesn't come from one man, but from the millions of us who have participated in the process.  The millions of us who stood in long lines and short lines and no lines to cast our ballot - to make our voice heard.  It astounds me that there are still people in this world who cannot do what we all did yesterday --uuugghhh!!!

Today, I got to wake up and tell my daughter that Senator Obama was going to be her next president.  This was a great thing for Garin, because like me, she is growing up playing everyday with kids who didn't think it was possible for them to become president because of the color of their skin.  This is a good thing for my daughter.  We didn't even talk about it in terms of race - we had that discussion during the democratic primaries.  I asked her this morning if she remembered which one was Obama and which one was McCain and she said, "Obama is the one with black hair and McCain has the white hair."  Being black does not qualify one to be president, but today we can clearly see that it no longer disqualifies one either.

I have hope, not because a candidate used it in their campaign this year, but because of who Christ is in me, in you and in us.  I have hope because I know that Jesus' life was revolutionary when he walked on this earth, and that to live like him will bring change - change to our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities, our state and our country.

You may have enjoyed my posts during this election year regarding the questioning of candidates, and you may have hated it.  Regardless, if you are reading this you haven't given up on me, so I am happy to conclude that my coverage of this year's election is officially over.  I will continue to post about what it means to me to be a man, a husband, a father embracing the Christ-life in every place with everything, everyday, but my attempt at being fair and balanced is over.

"See" you again soon with a post about what I'm learning about Jesus!

What a Great Story

Yesterday, I heard a story that made my heart smile.  Last Saturday was the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii.  The defending women's champion, Chrissie Wellington, had a 5 minute lead with about 1/4 of the bike ride left, when she had a flat tire.  No problem.  She stopped, pulled out her air canisters to fix the tire, but they didn't work.  As Wellington watched her competitors catch up and pass her, one came to her rescue.  Rebekah Keat of Australia, stopped and offered a canister to Wellington.  The defending champion was up and on her way again.  She regained the 10 minutes and the lead that she had lost, going on to win her second consecutive Ironman by nearly 15 minutes.

This is one reason why I love sports so much.  In the midst of all the greed and arrogance of the modern athletes, in steps a young lady from Australia to show us the thread of goodness that runs throughout humanity.  I have no idea whether or not this woman knows Jesus, but I do know that she demonstrated Him last Saturday by helping someone in need - even in the midst of competition.  Thank you Rebekah Keat for making my heart smile this week.