A strategy for hope

 I’m writing this on Monday morning, January 20, 2025, and the USA has a new president. I wasn’t going to watch the events on TV, but my curiosity got the better of me and I tuned in for the last part of his speech, a very utopian vision of our future. I heard him make a reference to “manifest destiny” and the planting of the US flag on Mars. 

I know this blog is supposed to be about facing the challenges of aging with humor and courage, but all of a sudden, I’m feeling older than I have in a long time. Maybe it’s because I woke up at 3:00 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. Maybe it’s more than that. I got up and prayed. And cried. And then cried out in prayer for God’s mercy to be on us all.

I also know that we (you, me, and whoever else is reading this) have very different perspectives of the current political reality. I don’t want to offend anyone, but my words may make someone not like me anymore. (That statement sounds like my insecure ten-year-old self.) But it’s important that we trust each other enough to express our differences and still affirm our relationships.

Hal and I are taking this day to fast and pray: prayers of lament, prayers for mercy, prayers of protection for our Hispanic friends, and some radical prayers that come against evil in any form. We are also trying to come up with a strategy of hope and affirmation for the coming four years, a list of concrete ways to bring light into the chaos I sense all around me. Here’s the preliminary list:

1. I will limit my watching of the news on TV as it will probably be more upsetting than informative. I will keep up with the news via the most objective online sources I can find, including the analysis of Tangle. But I need to keep away from the sensational stuff.

2. I will not trash-talk about the present administration, although honest conversation can be helpful. I will avoid angry arguments.

3. I will daily join with Hal and others to pray for our country, including the president. These times call for much intercession.

4. I will daily seek evidence that goodness and beauty exist in our world, in our nation, and in much of our government. I will focus on the good and the beautiful when the darkness and chaos threaten to overwhelm.

5. I will seek for kingdom ways to make a difference, even if my contributions be small.

6. I will find some small way to work toward justice and mercy for marginalized and oppressed people.

7. I will keep my faith in the sovereignty of God over history. I will affirm hope.

I will probably modify this list in the coming months—refining it and adding to it as we live into this new reality. I admit I’m frightened. And feeling old.

May God have mercy on us all.