An Orderly Transfer of Power

I watched the swearing in of the Vice President and President today with my 14 and 13 year old sons. I had the opportunity to share with them how blessed we are to live in a country where there is an orderly transfer of power. During the campaign it was very apparent that there are a lot of differences between the candidates and political parties. But the genuine appearing amicability between the two presidents was wonderful to see. Their embraces, yes there was more than one, was heartening. It was fun for the three of us to comment on all of this. However, I am also very concerned about this new president. This quote scares me to death, "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." -- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007. In one interview tonight, at one of the balls, he told an ABC news correspondent that tomorrow there would be some announcements and executive orders signed that would put in motion a new direction for our country. What direction will that be? If they are some that he articulated during his campaign, I know it is going to be a difficult to support his new direction.

On another note, a young lady from our church traveled to Washington D.C. with her high school group for today's inauguration. They arrived at the National Mall at 4:30 AM and they were too late to get on the Mall. Estimates range from 1 to 2 million people were there for today's festivities. As my sons and I looked at the crowd, and Shawn wondered out loud "how many people are there?", I thought, what difference can 1 person make? How can 1 person who lives in the Midwest, with a relatively small circle of friends, acquaintances and family, and doesn't know anyone important in politics, ever make a difference? I know what I can do. The same thing I've been doing ever since the election in November. I'm praying for this new president. I'm praying that God will be able to lead him, inspire him, protect him, surround him with righteous counselors and prosper him, and our country. One person, praying, can make a difference, because as we join with millions of Christians praying, God will hear and answer.

So today I am thankful to live in a free country with a great system of transferring power. I'm also thankful that even though I don't agree with a lot of the potential policies of our new president, I can pray for him, continue to be a good citizen, and work for the issues and values that I hold dear.