One Thought About the Apocalyptic Election and Three Things to do in the Meantime

I celebrated a bonus birthday at the coast last week. This was a trip planned months ago by my wife Jenny.  Four days of literally no TV, but a considerable amount of Netflix each evening. I wasn’t supposed to get this birthday. Actually, I wasn’t supposed to get the one before it either. Over the four days we took long walks, enjoyed the sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures, and read a lot. Time to think and reflect.  

I was visiting with a guy about my age. We swapped stories. Two years ago about the same time as my diagnosis, he was being treated for prostate cancer. In spite of this, he was still active.  While doing some light exercise, he sensed his heart was misbehaving. He went to ER, explained his symptoms to the doctor, and then suddenly blacked out. Paddles were needed to bring him back. He had just had a major heart attack. Again, that was two years ago. For both of us, having this conversation is a miracle.  

Anyone who goes through a crisis, whether it’s physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or relational often looks at what they’ve been through this way: 

• Suffering that comes suddenly and unexpectedly. This if followed by an awareness that “normal life” or life as it was, “pre-crisis”, is over.  

• Coming to terms with life as it now is. There is a reaching toward some kind of stability.  You recognize that while you won’t be getting your previous lifestyle back, this doesn’t mean you won’t a have life, and even a good one too. Fortunately for me, I’ve got an amazing wife to enjoy this “new life” with.    
  
• Learning to cope with an uncertain future. Learning to live with a chronic illness or a terminal condition creates a mindset that is hard for others to relate to, maybe impossible for them to truly “ get”, if they’ve not experienced something like it themselves.

As I said, I did some thinking and reflecting while away celebrating my birthday with Jenny. Three perspectives/practices surfaced to me that may be useful to you.  

1.      Cultivate a long game point of view. How long? I don’t know, really. As I’ve written before, all we really have is today, so enjoy it!  I’m not sure about tomorrow. I’ve got some heart numbers that aren’t looking good. My cardiologist has concerns and is currently running some tests. But, I’m feeling pretty good. I think for me to live denying the numbers or pretend they’re something other than what they are isn’t the way to go. But, neither is obsessing about them helpful to me either.  

2.      Cultivate a daily living pattern. Cultivate a daily living pattern even in the middle of terrible circumstances.  I say this knowing what it means to cave, to admit and experience total powerlessness. Don’t be hard on yourself if this is where you find yourself. But if you can, exercise some control in your life, even if they’re just little things. The serenity prayer comes to my mind, “ God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”  

I read some stories about dissidents living in totalitarian countries. Those who exercised some control of their daily life fared better than those who made no attempt.  Additionally, those who were realistic, did better than those who were overly optimistic. Last summer I reviewed a book titled, Live Not By Lives by Rod Dreher where you can read about these heroes of faith.

3.      Pray Daily. I know, and some you do too, what it means to be in chronic pain and to long for relief. Praying for improved health, better finances, success, and calmer circumstances is among our first thoughts each day. We’d be crazy not to pray about these things. One afternoon, I re-read a letter written by Augustine to a widow whose name was Proba. She was troubled by Romans 8:26, “We know not what we should pray as we ought.” He told her to pray, in particular, for a happy life.  His point to her was that having/getting things doesn’t necessarily equate happiness. “Godliness with contentment is great gain; for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Having food and clothing, let us be content.” Good advice, I think. 

OK, a final thought about this crazy election. Below is a scripture to think about:  

Trust Not in Princes 

~ Psalm 146:3 

Vote counting, alleged fraud, and fear of “four more years” or a Biden presidency can consume us. We have to resist this and move forward in faithfulness in the vocation God has placed us.  

Just my two cents. 

Thanks for reading! 

Curt