I did not vote for him, but I will pray for him.

If you're focusing on the first part of that sentence and you are surprised or disappointed I would love to have a cup of coffee and a loving conversation about the life experiences and beliefs that lead me to that decision. However, that doesn't matter nearly as much as the second part. 

In recent weeks my husband brought to my attention that it would be interesting to see how well we "practiced what we preached" should the election turn out this way. I've always been a firm believer that once our country elects a president we should respect and support them as our nation's leader. I'm not saying I think we should follow like lemmings, that is why we vote and write letters to our representatives and congressmen about topics we feel strongly about. I do believe that it is important our country present a united front to the world. I'm very concerned about the way our divisiveness presents to other nations. If US citizens have no respect for our President then why should they? This belief is easy to support and promote when I voted for the man sitting in the oval office. It will be much more difficult when I did not. 

So I will pray. Seventy two days from now on January 20, 2017 Donald Trump will be sworn into office as President of the United States of America. I pledge right now to myself and all of you that I will pray for him, and the men and women who are now and will be working with him, every single day until then and every day of his term. I will pray "that he may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and understanding; that he may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Colossians 1:9-12)

I will also pray for myself and everyone else who bears a heavy heart over the results of the election. In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses said to Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

I'm not trying to glaze over my disappointments, I have many. I'm disappointed that there wasn't a candidate that I could support with my whole heart with no reservations. I'm disappointed that the person I thought was better qualified for the job did not win. I'm disappointed that despite the fact that the election is now over, our country may never be fully united again. I'm most disappointed that relationships, real person to person relationships, have been irreparably damaged as a result of this election.

So I will pray that our next President will be convicted to lead our country with love and wisdom. If he does not, God is still in control. "He is the same and His years will have no end." Psalms 102:27

I hope you will pray with me.