I was up yesterday shortly after 4 AM to get ready to go to the election precinct where I have worked for the past several elections. We opened at 6 AM with many people in line and, except for a short lunch break, I did not sit down until our polls closed at 7 PM. I work at Gambrill Gardens, a retirement living center in West St. Louis County. A lot of our voters are elderly residents of the center. So, in addition to my normal job of helping people cast their ballots on the electronic and paper machines, many of the elderly voters need to have the ballot read to them, or they need special help with the touch screens. When I got home, I was exhausted, however, I really enjoyed the day.
In addition to the large turnout, we had close to 60%, I noticed a real determination on many people's part to "make a difference". In one form or another, many people said something like, "I want my vote to count" or "I want to help make a difference". On our ballot we had quite a few judge confirmations. It surprised me, with many of the elderly voters I assisted, how many of them voted NO on judge confirmations, almost as if there was a determination to sweep every area of government clean and start again.
I think the past 18 months have reignited a grass roots feeling in this country that the individual can make a difference. It has confirmed the idea that the will of the people cannot be ignored, and that if it is, the people will make changes. Now, Christians, it time to pray for new leaders, new direction and people in leadership who will be open to the wisdom and guidance of God. This was quite an election cycle, now let's do something with it.
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