//Election Day Thoughts// Laughter and the Kingdom

 

Happy Wednesday!

I feel like this is the climax of 2020. Our story this year has been full of lots of ups and downs, trials and obstacles and now we're here... the big finale! I'm equal parts excited and anxious to be here. Excited because I don't know about you, but I've gotten really tired of all the political talk. Politics are important to talk about... but not all the time and not when you're using your political opinions to spread hate and discord, which unfortunately, is all most people are doing.

It's just gotten really exhausting for me. It hurts my heart and fills me with more than a little bit of frustration and annoyance. It's so tiring to go on social media and see so much pain and hate and division, and it's even more tiring the fact that no one can seem to have a conversation without bringing up something heavy.

I had a dentist appointment yesterday and then right after my mom and I with my little brothers in the backseat went on a bit of an adventure to find where we can vote. Since we recently moved (and I was the only one who listened to Instagram and changed my address last month on my voter registration), I had to vote in one place while everyone else had to go vote in a different spot closer to our old house. This was actually my first time voting, which I'm very thankful for. I'm glad I got to vote this year with this election being such an important one for our nation.

But if I'm being honest, this election fills me with a lot of anxiety. I'm really worried about what will happen next year. Not to sound dramatic but I feel like a lot hinges on this election and the repercussions of who wins really. Not to mention what will happen this month after the election. No matter who wins, there are going to be riots from the other side. There's going to be trouble and discord and hate like never before from the losing side and I'm worried about that too. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe nothing bad will happen. Maybe I'm just being a pessimist and a skeptic; I sincerely hope I am. But I just can't shake the worrisome feeling. It doesn't help that over the past week the stores have started going crazy again. People are stock piling things, buying up the toilet paper... Everyone's worried and nervous and it shows.

It's taken a lot of vigilance and filtering my thoughts to not feed into my anxiety about what next year and the larger future holds. I have to constantly be watching my thoughts and always turning them back toward God and His promises in His Word whenever I start to stray toward the fears and worries I have about the post-election. All this hate and fear mongering and division leading up to the election doesn't help either. It feeds into my anxieties and worries.

Since so many are no doubt feeling the nerves as we wait to get the results of who will be president next year, I want to remind everyone of the importance of getting out of our own heads. Of laughing and enjoying life despite how troublesome and worrisome parts of it can be. That's the joy of having God in our lives. He brings an eternal, unbreakable joy. No matter what's happening in our lives, we can always find a joy through Him.

At book club a few weeks ago we were all laughing about something someone said and a friend said how she couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like that. We got to talking about how it's really wonderful and refreshing to just be able to sit and talk about fun stuff and to laugh. Talk about books and movies and TV shows. Laugh at jokes and make fun plans. Read a good book and come and discuss it together every Thursday. I said how I can't seem to just have a fun conversation anymore. One way or another someone always brings up something heavy. Either politics or controversial things going on, the election or even heavy topics about faith and the Bible. None of those things are bad things to talk about... but they need to happen in moderation.

To have them brought up at least once in every conversation you have is exhausting and leads to burn out. There can be heavy stuff going on, important stuff; we can still care about all of it and not talk about it or even think about it 24/7. It's so, so important to laugh right now. It's important to hang out with friends and talk about things we're passionate about. It's important to sit around a bonfire roasting marshmallows and nerd out about favorite TV shows and movies. It's important to curl up with a blanket and tea and read a good book or to sit at your desk in comfy clothes and write your heart out. It's important to just sit and be and enjoy life. Let go of all the hard and heavy stuff for a little while and get lost in a good book or a show or sit and laugh with friends.

Take time to smile and laugh. Do something or talk about something that has nothing to do with politics or the hard stuff of this year. Find time to rest and release. And don't forget, no matter what happens, that we are citizens of an eternal Kingdom first and a citizen of the United States second. Jesus will always be my King and I will obey and follow Him before I obey and follow any human person. God won't be surprised by who wins. He wasn't surprised by this year, and He won't be surprised by the results of this election. He's still sovereign and fully in control. Rest in that knowledge and I hope you can find some joy in it and in something beautiful and fun today.