Time Out for an Important Message

Like you, I love my country. I love that my life is easier here than it would be if I lived anywhere else on this earth. I love the freedoms I enjoy -- the freedom to speak my mind without fear of being imprisoned for my opinions, the freedom to travel throughout the country without restraint, the freedom to worship my God in the way I choose, the freedom to gather uninhibited with other people, the freedom to take part in the political process that chooses who will lead and govern my city, my county, my state and my country. And many more freedoms do we all enjoy on a daily basis.

There was a time when I was too busy to really get involved in the political process, but nonetheless did what I could to educate myself about the candidates and issues and voted my conscience. In recent years, I've paid much more attention, and have even served in various capacities in our precinct. For one thing, our freedoms are being eroded line by line, here a little, there a little. Perhaps age has given me a perspective I didn't have before, and I can see where we seem to be headed as a country. And it concerns me deeply.

So here we are, just 5 days away from "Super Tuesday", a day when 23 states will hold their primary elections (or caucuses in some states). These states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. Rules may vary somewhat from state to state as to how this process is carried out, but I believe in most, if not all states, you have to have registered to vote in a certain time frame before the election. This information is available on-line by looking at your state's website for Elections information.

I know that many of the people who might wander onto this blog are busy with young families and other responsibilities. Those duties are most important, and precious, and timely. But I hope that you will make the time to get out and vote on Tuesday if your primary will be held then, and if it isn't, find out when it will be, and vote then. The bottom line is -- at least to my way of thinking -- is that the primary elections are every bit as important, if not more so, than the general election in November. This is the election that determines who your party's candidate will be.

Ok, that's the most important part. But something else -- and I'm going to stick my neck out here -- I'm conservative. I believe in less government involvement in the lives of citizens. I believe that we as individuals should be as self-sufficient as possible and not surrender our freedom to our government by taking handouts from them. I also believe there are times when some of us need government help, and that is ok. The candidates who are selected as the potential president of our country have very different approaches to government. Select wisely. Your future, and the future of your children is at stake.

He Knows the End From the Beginning

In the midst of a trial, great or small, have you wondered where your Heavenly Father was and why he wasn’t hearing or answering your prayers? I’m ashamed to admit that I have. But this morning, for no particular reason, my mind went back to some incidents that happened in my life that remind me that He is always there and He always answers our prayers, spoken or only felt, in the best possible way.

In 1976 I was not a happy person. Bob had been out of work for a year and a half, I was working part time. He stayed at home with four-year-old Gayle. We were members of a neighborhood Catholic parish which we did not attend with any frequency. My life, at least, was not in order, and although I knew that, I didn‘t have any idea how to change it. I was struggling personally as well as with the circumstances in our lives.

After having looked for a job for a length of time, Bob started thinking that his best option would be to join the Army. Not only would he have a job, but they would give him special training in the field of his choice. He had served his obligation in the National Guard for six years in the late ‘60’s and early 70’s, and at the end of that time had sworn that he would never stand in line again. I took that to mean that he was definitely done with military service. When he announced to me, pretty much out of the blue, that he was thinking about joining the Army, I was horrified. I knew what that would entail: we would have to leave our home, our home town, all of our friends, and our family, and we would become -- gasp -- Gypsies!! I protested long and loudly. I refused. I probably even stomped my feet and cried. And I must have prayed that this foolish ideal would evaporate.

Looking back, I see now that Heavenly Father knew my needs so much better than I. He was moving me in a direction to end my struggling and help me make my life right, to put it in harmony with the best that He has for me. I didn’t know that at the time, of course, so when Bob came home from enlisting, I cried. He was committed for four years. When he showed me on a map where we would be living in Texas, I ripped the page from the atlas into many pieces and told him of all the places I might want to live, that is, if I ever even considered leaving Toledo, Texas was the last place I would choose. He was unfazed. He calmly but firmly told me that he had joined the Army and that he was going. I could stay or I could go. That was that.

We had been married almost ten years. I hadn’t come that far through the challenges of early married life, to give up yet. I swallowed my pride, and began doing all that needed to be done to move our little family to Texas and to adjust to a whole new life ahead. I told Bob I was with him for four years, but no more, and after that if he chose to stay in the Army, he would be doing it alone. I still wasn’t happy, but I was going. I didn't know it at the time, but I was taking the first step toward putting my will in line with Heavenly Father’s.

to be continued