Election 2008

Well, I have delayed this for a few days now because I have had so many thoughts running through my head. I have not only thoughts of the past couple days but experiences that have been nothing short of small miracles.

On Tuesday night a few friends biked downtown (see pics and videos) to be a part of a potential historic moment, and historic it was. I am so glad I did! I will never forget the masses of people with such diverse backgrounds and histories gathering as one. I will never forget being outside of the Hilton in which Obama was waiting for the results when people started erupting on Michigan Ave. that he had won while I was talking on the phone with my good friend and mentor Steve Braxton (see video of Obama coming out of the Hilton below). I didn't anticipate when I planned on going down to Grant Park that night how significantly diverse the crowd was. Not only was it diverse but I can't recall any moment in my life when I felt so unified with such a large mass of people who looked so beautifully different than me. If I sit back and think about that, it is pretty sad, isn't it? Didn't God create us different to show His amazing creativity and we miss so many moments to celebrate as one and experience that creativity. We have to be in these pockets surrounded by people that look like ourselves and act like us all the while missing our creative Creator's masterpiece. That is why I love the city! That is why I love Chicago! That is why this night was so special to me because I was one with complete strangers for a unified vision of Hope and of Change.

Another experience that happened on the night of the election was this massive celebrative atmosphere all over the city. While biking back from downtown myself and 5 other white people on bikes were beeped at numerous times by black people on the west side of Chicago while giving us thumbs up or pointing the sky in celebration. They obviously knew where we were coming from. Let me just tell you, most interactions with complete strangers on the west side of Chicago, where I live is "Run Forest Run!" or "Get out of my neighborhood!" The latter has been communicated verbally as well as more common, through body language. That night, I experienced change that will hopefully last for a lifetime, not a night. (See my "I Have A Dream" blog to hear my heart on that matter) My hope that someday we will live, breath, laugh, as one not just in the same country but in the same neighborhood as friends and neighbors is coming true as I write this. I know because in the past week I have experienced it.

I think the most significant for me thus far was the morning after the election. I live on the west side of Chicago just down the street from where Martin Luther King Jr. used to live, and every morning I walk to work at this small community fitness center where I try my best to love people with the love of Christ and encourage them to take care of their bodies. Everyday I pass by a few African Americans, usually men, and I often feel a resentment coming from them because of the color of my skin. On November 5, 2008, it was different and I know it just wasn't me. All 3 interactions I had with African Americans that morning on my way to work were just "different." I still can't fully put words to my thoughts but it was as if some burden or negative feel toward me, a white man, was lifted. I passed by one individual and used the opportunity to greet the man with a warm, "Good morning!" He responded by saying something on the lines of, "Yeah, in more ways than one," and we both sort of knew that something in this world was different and we were glad to be alive to experience that great day.

The next thing that occured that morning was probably the most significant one that I will never forget. I had an interaction with a young man probably around 20 as he came into the fitness center to play basketball. I asked him something about the night before and I was sharing to everyone about my excitement for being in Grant Park. I will never forget the words that came out of his mouth as I probed. He said, "All this time, my mom told me I could be anything, and I didn't believe her until today." Not only those words were incredibly significant but the way in which he said it was significant. He was totally serious! (The picture above is a picture of the gym the young man was coming to play ball, also a polling place that helped bring the first black president to office...the very act that changed this young man's outlook on life in America.) As he walked into the gym, he said he was going to go back to school to get his college degree. I see him everyday so maybe I'll be able to report back in a few years to let you know if he followed through)

Let's join together, Republican/Democrat, black/white, and pray that Obama is a good leader and listens to His heavenly Father for advice on every decision he makes. Who knows, maybe we will have a Democratic president who becomes pro-life while being president. Who knows, anything could happen if we just unify our hearts and seek God to heal this land.

(to be continued)