If it has been our practice to wake up each morning, or even some mornings, and say prayers to center ourselves in a mindset of gratefulness and hope;

If it is the tenor of our hearts to live lives of love — imperfect but authentically — and to advance the life of the world;

If we are content daily, and over a lifetime, to do small things well — keeping house, working with excellence, loving our families, serving our communities, and nurturing a sense of habitual gratitude, quiet generosity, and unpretentious welcome to others;

If it is our aim, in this fractured world of broken hearts, to follow Jesus in becoming instruments of reconciliation;

If we can turn off the strident voices around us and listen to the wisdom of the ancient way that tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves;

If we are actively attentive and responsive to the needs and sorrows of others closest to us — in our homes, our neighborhoods, our classrooms, or our workplaces — no matter how unlike us they are;

If we are Red or Blue, but we want to count for something bigger than the mere blip of the present political season;

Then …

All we did and believed and aspired to yesterday,
Do that on the day of the election,
And the day after the election,
And the day after that …

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

allen