Choices

This time of year is about choices. It's November. It's Election Day. It's Thanksgiving. It's Christmas. What sort of choices are we facing? I know mine. Where I come from, though, who I am determines my choices. I profess a belief in Jesus Christ. I believe I am to be "in the world, but not of the world." I had a colleague recently ask me how that was possible. He felt he definitely had to be "in and of" the world. The "of" part informing the act of being "in".

My belief is that I choose to be in the world, and I choose to act in a way that testifies to my holding myself apart from the ways of "being" of the world that are harmful. Harmful in terms of my spiritual self, my physical self, my mental and emotional self. My hope is that I am such a vessel of Christ's Spirit, of the love and mercy and compassion He brought into the world, that by my actions, my way of living, I can bring others into my way of "being."

I spent the better part of this morning standing in line, along with hundreds of others, to vote in advance of next Tuesday's official Election Day. It was incredible to see and participate in because all of these people were okay with waiting 3 hours. I didn't meet a single unpleasant person. I had the fortune of meeting up with a parent from the school where I serve on the PTA board. She and I got to know each other MUCH better over those three hours. We discussed where I am in my journey toward ministry. Where she is on her spiritual journey. Our thoughts on politicians, education, teachers, principals. Throughout it all, though, we both allowed our spiritual journeys to inform the conversation. What was a wonderful realization was that here we were, standing in lines waiting to vote like I have never personally experienced before, freely discussing differing religious thoughts and places, speaking confidently of how we hoped to change the world in small ways -- all of this possible because our ancestors made a choice to gain independence from Great Britain. We were standing in line with people of ALL ethnic backgrounds because our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents chose to believe, and support the belief, that ALL people were created equal.

I allow my beliefs to inform my choices -- from who I voted for today to how I and my family will choose to celebrate Christmas. Christ is in me as I am in Him. Be encouraged; be courageous; make choices.