Thursday.....Politics......It's Only One Man's Prayer?

We returned today from Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, 82 degrees by the way with people tanning and some even in the water! It was a two night spontaneous trip after a scheduled few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I simply wanted to drive around Delaware with my blog's bumper sticker and Christine O'Donnell's name on the back of the car, and also to pass out some small cards with the blog URL on it in the process. The purpose? I wanted to do something, however insignificant, for this courageous young lady who put her reputation on the line for what she believes. I would want to do the same for Joe Miller, Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio and a host of others whose names, hopefully, will someday push the Karl Roves out of the  limelight. Just one person with a blog, you say? No, one more person with a blog! One more voice! One more citizen who has had enough of professional politicians! I know men who are very vocal in their conservative talk, yet they will not vote on Tuesday. I'm sure that there are a number of reasons for this unfortunate phenomenon but the number one  must be the obvious; it's only one vote, they reason. I have two responses to this. The first being, once again the obvious, if enough people take that position...the opponent wins. We hear this reasoning from all candidates in the last minute of their campaigns, but it accomplishes little because the bugaboo remains...come on, it's just one vote! My second response may not be so easy to avoid. If you do not vote...your conservative opinions may be hollow. You may talk a good game but do you show up when needed? You are letting others, and your country down, and those who sacrificed greatly to give you that right. As the old idiom goes, with friends like that, who needs enemies? OK..... I vented. Let me tone it down a little bit for with some there are mitigating circumstances. One might  work very hard in a campaign and give of their money but still not show up at the polls. Another might have a history of honest and dedicated public service but still see their own vote as only one vote. I don't agree with them but do acknowledge that they indeed did show up...just not at the polling booth, a mental miscalculation. I have something else to say about this though. It's about what they are missing! When that vote now button is pushed, there is an exhilaration! One has stayed the course to the end and can look in the mirror. Win or lose, they can stand tall. Their vote has become a part of history as every vote ever cast for Abraham Lincoln...or Ronald Reagan. They will have an answer for their children when asked, Who did you vote for, Dad. Maybe most importantly of all, they will have humbled themselves by not condescending to the little people who vote while they do the more important tasks. And picture this; some day they may pick up the banner themselves and find their own name on the ballot. What might they then say, believe, even depend upon, as they find themselves encouraging others to vote? If we show up now, and if God extends His mercy upon us, they can then look back upon this election and say...It happened before...it can happen again! Do Christians say, It's only one man's prayer..so why pray? No we don't, because God hears every prayer. We know that in His wisdom His answer may be no but He beckons us to come to Him with our petitions. He determines the fate of elections and whole nations also. His answer to us here may also be no, for our dependence is truly on Him alone, but it is a great privilege and blessing to pray, and a lesser one to cast a vote for God-fearing leaders, but a privilege and blessing none the less!