And where would those political posts be?

A few months ago I posted that I was planning on blogging about politics during the presidential race. I know you all held your breathe and were greatly disappointed. Some of you have e-mailed to ask where all the political posts were, so I thought I owed you all an explanation. As I wrote in my post a few months ago, I am very passionate about politics. I love to discuss candidates, parties and platforms. I love that we live in a country where we have that freedom. It is an amazing gift. So I was getting right into my fired up political mind set – Obama sign in the front yard, and a pin on my purse – when I sat down in church and heard a sermon from our pastor about politics and faith. It was not one of those "go vote this way" sermons, it was essentially about keeping our eyes on Christ this election season. One thing he said really pulled at my heart. He asked, Who do people know you to be? Basically, what is the label you wear? Democrat? Republican? Doctor? Mother? Activist? Independent? Farmer? Teacher? I don't know about you, but don't want any of those labels to be who I am known as. I don't want to be known as Wendy the Democrat. Sure, I'm a democrat, but that's not who I am.

Daughter of the King
Servant of Christ
Follower of Jesus Christ
Christian

Those would be the labels that matter to me. So when I thought of writing about my political views and sending one more piece of ideology into your inbox this Fall, I just couldn't do it. We all heard enough pundits, didn't we? We all received enough flyers, postcards, spam and robocalls without me adding to your daily deluge. I don't honestly believe that writing about politics would have swayed anyone's vote, but what it could have done was take my eyes off what I set out to do in this blog. It would have turned my blog into a space of division and controversy amongst sister of Christ, instead of being a place where you can sit down with a cup of coffee and be (hopefully) encouraged in life. It would have been just another political e-mail that annoyed 50% of its readers.

Now we have all cast our votes, and the nation has made its representative selections, our challenges continue much the same. As parents the work continues whether it be keeping peace between offspring or guiding our children toward a living faith. As women, we continue to find that elusive state of balance (sorry to leave my approximately 5 male readers out). As Christians we continue to serve and worship our amazing God more fully. I hope that by making the choice not to blog about politics we can move on together as a community of readers seeking to celebrate our friends, family and faith more fully. And if you really, really think I should have blogged about politics – don't worry, I am sure the next presidential cycle will start in about 20 months!