A prayer for . . . all of us

When I briefly turned off social media last week and put others first, an amazing thing happened.

I was driving on a congested road near my house on Friday. My mind was on a million things from the recent election to the protests in the streets when the radio DJ put on the National Anthem in honor of Veterans Day.

I was instantly pulled from the myriad of thoughts running through my head. I had ten places I needed to be, but I pulled over to the side of the road out of respect for the song and our country.

When the song was over, I took a break from the news reports, the political name-calling and the memes calling for Trump or Clinton, depending on your persuasion, to be sent straight to prison and I prayed.

It was a simple prayer, nothing too extraordinary. I thanked God first for the freedom we enjoy and the many blessings the U.S. has been so fortunate to be given.  

I prayed too for:

–Donald Trump. I’m not a fan. I hate the brashness. I hate the smugness. I hate the boastful exaggerations. With that being said, I’ll take him at his word that he wants to serve. I pray that God gives him guidance and wisdom to serve like he has stated for “all of the United States.”

–Trump supporters that they may come to understand why some may not be as excited about a Trump presidency and the concern they have that his policies will trample on the basic rights of minorities and the disenfranchised.

–Trump opponents that they have every right to voice their opposition in peaceful protest (not riots), but to also accept the Rule of Law and offer Trump the respect he deserves having won the presidency. He deserves the respect that comes with the office. In the words of President George H.W. Bush when he handed over office to President-elect Bill Clinton: “You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country’s success. I am rooting hard for you.” 

–A smooth transition of power. We may criticize and disagree, but my hope is that we may heal our differences and all share the hope of a better tomorrow. I know that bipartisanship progress may be too much to ask, but my hope is that we all can respect each other’s opinion and be fair-minded in our push for progress.

–Our country that we may come together and reach for the promise and high-minded ideals — to be a country for the people and by the people — that our founding fathers set so many years ago.

And with that I continued on my way. If that makes me a redneck conservative, Trump supporter, then so be it. If that makes me lily-livered liberal leftist, then so be it.

Whatever it made me, I felt better about our future.