Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Life Is Good

Sometimes, you have to remind yourself of the important things.

This has been a difficult year for me. Estrangement from my oldest child and the caring for and death of my father have been emotionally exhausting. I dived into this election season, in some ways, as a diversion from real life pain.

But even as the election has become more frustrating and disappointing, real life has become much better. Oldest daughter has started the long journey home, and when she is with us, life is absolutely delightful. And while the looming holidays bring on fits of loneliness, I will not be alone for a minute.

Losing one's parents is never a good or easy thing. The oddest feeling is the lonely orphan feeling one has after the last parent's death when one looks around and realizes that there are no elders left; you are the elder.

It was interesting reading Orrin Judd's admonition to conservatives not to begin acting like the worst of the Left if we lose this election.

It is incumbent on the Right to avoid such a fate. After all, our theology doesn't afford us the "luxury" of imagining that the world must yield to our wants and wishes. When we consider ourselves to be estranged from our lives just because they aren't going exactly as we'd like them to we are, in some sense, denying Creation. And were to snarl and snipe our way through an Obama presidency we would be elevating Caesar above God in ways that ought to shame us.

I've had to be reminded recently that the election is not worth overreacting. Losing sight of the important things is life is a terrible thing.