Some Prayers for Obama and Amercia

The Inauguration of Barak Obama as President of the United States on January 20, 2009 is a milestone, a world-changing event, and a statement of hope that is long overdue. Whether one is a Democrat or a Republican, the votes have been counted and now we go forward with a new President who will do all he can for this country.

Since I don’t preach politics from the pulpit, I’d like to offer a few thoughts on what I hope and pray for with the Obama administration. First of all, as Martin Luther King, Jr. declared many years ago, let us not judge one another on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character. It has taken over 250 years for Americans to elect an African American president. At one level, I find it to be appalling that it has taken that long. At another level, I am proud that we have finally elected the first African American president.

What I hope for most through this election is that all Americans will work together for what is best for America and America’s place in this world. The color of one’s skin does not enable us to make good or bad decisions; it does not make us love and care for people any differently. Racial inequality should never have existed in the first place, let alone caused such division in our country. Standing in solidarity as a country united by our love for America and all who live here is long overdue.

We have relied on leadership from Anglo American males almost exclusively at the higher levels of government and I believe we have neglected many other leaders God has sent simply because some couldn’t or wouldn’t see past another’s skin color or gender.

I know there are some Americans who are less than thrilled with the election of an African American president. I also know that Barak Obama’s life is far from safe from the racial extremists that live in our nation. I ask you to keep our President, his wife and children in your prayers.

We are at the brink of something new and exciting. Change is difficult, but change we must. I think change, more than anything, is what this presidential election has been about. “If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten.”

“Yes, we can.” We can see past the color of one’s skin or one’s gender and see a brother or sister. We can see past what has always been and see what can be. We can see all creation as God does. “And it was very good.”