Day of Sadness

[tbgfan]

My heart is heavy for the carnage witnessed today as an American.   It brought back memories of the day of JFK's assassination.  I can remember the somberness as news came to us of this horrible event.  Even being young I still felt the pain and darkness that had befallen our nation.  If I had been of voting age, I would have voted for him.  He had a heart for the nation and made tremendous inroads in helping the underprivileged.  His personal life was flawed with  deficiencies.  He didn't institute policies for votes, but instituted programs to help the underprivileged.  He saw the less fortunate, the ones who needed to hear him speak with his Boston brogue on the Capitol steps that January day, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."  It became a mantle for his presidency.  Today's politicians have made the message "You're an underdog, and we can help you.  You are entitled.  No citizenship required, no patriotic duty, no standing and honoring our flag, no respect for law."  

I can remember the horse drawn casson carrying President Kennedy's body through the streets for his funeral service.  The rider less horse with boots turned backwards in the stirrups.  All these images imprinted in my mind.  

Today  could have easily been another day of "death" for a former President of the United States.  God's mercies were birthed new this morning for President Trump.  Only heaven knows the upheaval that could have been a dagger in America's democracy, if it had been a different outcome.  

For the families who went on a sunlit blue day to demonstrate their support for their candidate, and are coming home without their loved one, may God's peace and comfort sustain them in the days ahead.  

Our hope must be a passion for what is possible.  If we give a word of grace, a word of hope, we can give a word of compassion.  "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."  Compassion looks outward not inward.  It lets us be of value instead of receiving valuables.  It keeps us grounded to be of service, but doesn't make it a grind in "doing unto others, as you would have them do unto you."