From Facebook, Twitter, and newspaper clippings to “around the table” talk, it seems politics has never been as negative as it is right now. The incessant name calling, job bashing, and character challenges that bounce from one another’s lips in the spirit of gaining a vote – which I’m not so sure actually ever really changes someone’s mind. With election day tomorrow and then of course the “biggie” in November, I feel like I’m in a never ending root canal – (no offense to my awesome dentist, Dr. Farmer) – and I just want to climb out of the chair…
But I want to say Thank You! To all of you brave enough to run for office…brave enough to stick your lives on the line…to expose who you are and all your warts…to try to make a difference.
Ahhh the rancorous debate, philosophical objections, and blood-thirsty opposition in a country that peacefully ends one term of office with another and gracefully walks off the platform with a hand-shake and a God speed.
Politics is serious business. If I could say it like my mom says it, “SEEEEERIUSSSSS” business, you’d get my point. Although at times it seems like another version of reality television, the election process is as real as rain. Real people. Real time. Real money. Real heartache. Every candidate has either a mama, wife, child, brother, sister, or someone who hears every painful word, every negative comment, and every cruel flaw exposed. We make fun of the candidates; we berate them; we pretend as if they are characters on a video game or roadrunner cartoon and blast them, expecting them to stand up again, dust themselves off, so we can take another shot.
Gratitude is rarely mentioned or even considered. So, as we face tomorrow together, I want to thank all of you for running for office. It is the belief you have to change that drives you. A belief that you can make a difference to better our lives. A belief that at the end of the day, it will all be worth it for the impact you can make. I am grateful for your courage to try. I don’t think it is said enough, but very few people are willing to open themselves up to what you have had to endure every day since you stomped your first yard sign in the ground. None of us can truly understand the depth of your journey from the moment you uttered the words, “I think I can.”
I don’t know what the outcome will be for you. For some the victory will be bittersweet because of the high price to obtain it. For others the loss will challenge your self esteem, your sense of value, and your hopes of the future. Whatever the results, it isn’t the end of your story; nor is God finished with His purpose for you. Leadership is never measured by the number of votes on a ballot. Leadership is the drive within to change something and make it better.
Win or lose, never stop reaching. Eventually, if we stretch enough, we’ll take hold of that which is truly important to us.
On behalf of the Now Habersham Family, a big thank you! We appreciate you more than you know.
