It started with a schedule of the busy lives of our grandchildren Maddie, almost 12 years old and William (Wil) almost 10 years. Our son Mikos and his wife Jenny had to fulfill business travel plans in Hawaii so Maddie and Wil spent four days with us.   I prayed for special graces to get me through this week because Mike was traveling and would not be around to help.

Making breakfast for two extra people, packing lunches, braiding Maddie’s hair and off to school. Today was election day and in the evening a new president would be announced. Maddie had play practice so I did not have to worry about picking her up until 6:30pm. Wil and I bonded over vanilla shakes and fries (for him) after school. I was surprised at his disciple, I never mentioned homework but Wil  automatically hit the books and did not come up for air until he was done and he never asked for any help. The clincher was that later that day he wanted nothing to do with watching TV because he had reading to do. Did I pick up the wrong child? Was this kid my grandchild?

I was also in charge of the mild mannered Rosie, my granddog. She is still in the puppy stages and needs a lot of TLC. She sheds, chews, and digs holes in the backyard, other than that she is a sweetheart.

We picked Maddie up from play practice and planned our election party. Two of my dear friends Sarah and Dorothy were coming over to watch the results. We had been in contact all day praying for a favorable outcome, by the time they arrived we were presently surprised that Trump had a lead, but we never stopped praying! We waited for another announcement of a state and rejoiced with great excitement! Maddie and Will got into to the screaming and jumping up and down. Sarah’s husband Jason came by with two of their daughters and our family room was filled with hyper adults and screaming kids, it was close to nine by the time this party winded down, baths and homework won over the elections.

This election brought many of us to our knees. I have never prayed with such fervor, not because I wanted Trump to win but because we needed to get things back in order with our country, so many non negotiable  like the appointment of new supreme court justices and the right to life. Many of us Trump supporters were in the closet because of what spewed out of his mouth, I never cared for all the name calling. It was when it got closer to election day I felt that as a Christian I had to take a stand. I watched it all go down on social media, the hatred on both ends and did not want to be part of any of that rhetoric. There is a great divide in our country and I want to be part of rebuilding. The protestors will soon disappear, they always do but those who were not happy with the outcome must not operate in hatred and fear but accept that Trump is the president elect and pray for him. Give him the opportunity to do what he was elected for.

As I drive my grandchildren to school they want to listen to “their” music. It has been some time since listening to secular music  it has gotten a lot more risqué, way to much sexual content. One song lyrics are “I hate you, I love you” I changed  the wording to “I love you my Jesus, I love you.” I sang loud to drown out the confusing message, the kids just laughed. As a grandparents we have many responsibilities, to teach by example, to pray and to be patient. The latter was a big challenge, especially when it came to the small things like the new rage of bottle flipping. Bottle flipping started by some high school kid in 2016 as a talent show competition, now it has taken over school age kids like Wil.

Maddie is spending a lot of time  FaceTimeing  her friends, as a grandparent all I could do was monitor and follow the directive of her parents. One half hour in front of rest of the family is the rule.

We must never keep our guard down with our grandkids because they need to be saturated in prayer. This is my daily prayer:

Dear Lord, I pray that you watch over my grandchildren, let no harm come upon them. I pray for their safety and that you would give them wisdom to do what is right.  I ask that you would help them in their studies to always do their best. That they be kind and loving and treat others with respect. Dear Lord keep them from any life threating illness and let no hand come against them to harm them in anyway. I intrust them to your loving hands, Amen.

This is my general prayer but I personalize it for each of my four grandchildren.

God Bless!

As an 18 year old I was registered democrat. In my twenties the Peace and Freedom Party took hold of my young plyable mind. I was deeply entrenched in the thoughts that liberated and freed my cerebral branches. A mind with God in the shadows, a mind on its own path and taking anyone who would listen. Not realizing back then that I had a gift to influence others but with seeds of toxic ideologies that had hold of my soul. I believed in woman’s rights and all that it represented. No man was going to rule my life. This mind had only room for self and settled comfortably and controlled me. I was angry but not really sure why.

As far as I was concerned the Republican party was evil and hated minorities only representing the rich. My jaded thoughts were steeped in my heart and my entire family were registered Democrats , our thoughts were one; we ate the same mana laced with relativism. We had a picture of President Kennedy in our living room, he was our demi god and our mother loved him and taught us to respect and love our commander in chief.

Our mother always had a political influence on me and up to her dying day exercised her right to vote. I loved and respected this lesson that she instilled in all of us. She was patriotic and always for the underdog, I honored her dedication to always be heard.

Image being part of the Peace and Freedom movement and then becoming a Born-Again Christian (I am now Catholic)? This was a paradox and the two forces collided with only one winner. It was during these formative years of Biola University that the Word of God was taking hold of my heart and I could no longer be angry surrounded with so much peace. The growth in my beliefs superseded all and nothing was more important than  pleasing God. My life was finally on a track, this gradual but gentle change caused me to see things in a different light. Understanding the meaning of life and the purpose of why I was born, how God choose Mike as my helpmate was part of His plan. As I surrendered my will to God, my mind was maturing to what was expected of me as Christian.

There is a plan in action with this election and God is in control.  I have already cast my vote  but like the rest of Americans the sentiment is the same, I have witness so much negative press on both end of the spectrum it’s repulsive. I choose not to post any obnoxious opinions on fb because it is displeasing to God.  Jesus never bashes, he loves.

We all have our reasons for who we are voting  so I guess this goes out to all who believe in God and to those who are stating to choose the lesser of two evils. To God there is nothing more evil that killing innocent lives or changing what God intended for marriage.  Attending daily Mass does not make me holier than thou but it does give me peace about this election. Remember the non negotiable before you vote and choose life and pray, pray, pray!

“There is a way which seems right to man, but its end is the way of death.”  Proverbs 16:25