YES WE DID!!!!!
Dear Diary,
On November 4, 2008, at 11:00 PM Eastern Standard time Barack Obama became the 44th President-Elect of the United States of America. As I sat in my bedroom and watched history unfold, I was somewhat hesitant to embrace this declaration. After all, California and North Carolina had not been counted. I wanted to wait until all the numbers were in. Then it happened. All across this country and all across the world, people began to react. 250,000 people of different ethnicities and backgrounds in Chicago...wow... all there to see one man.
I admit that managed to keep it all together, until I saw the people gathered at Ebeneezer Baptist Church. There's something about church that's incredibly liberating. It has been the cornerstone of so many movements in American history. When American slaves had nothing but hope in a better tomorrow, they found strength in the Word of God and in spirituals that they sang as they fled to freedom. The civil rights movement began in churches, and in its wake pushed church at the forefront of the social justice battle. So it was fitting that as I saw those church folk dancing and celebrating in a spirit of praise that my heart cried out like never before. First, my breath hitched as I struggled for words. Then I found my vision blurred by incredulous tears. Then I fell to my face as a spirit of thanks overwhelmed me.
Why the thanks? Because America is the result of silent fervent prayers and steadfast faith in the most difficult times. From the soldier in battlefield...to the young man sitting at a segregated lunch counter waiting to be served...to the first woman to cast a vote in an election...to a mother who works two jobs to give her children an education...to the young man who walks through a crumbling drug infested city just to go to school...to a the son of a Kenyan immigrant running for the highest office in the land. America crossed a vital threshold last night due in large part to the prayers of many who never got to see those prayers answered.
Always remember that you are the result of a prayer and that you are the fulfillment of a promise from God. Keep on praying. Keep on believing. We have a lot more prayers and promises left in us yet. I thank God for Our America, and I thank God for being born at this challenging time. But as long as the challenges come, I will pray without ceasing, for I know the answers will come when the time is right.
On November 4, 2008, at 11:00 PM Eastern Standard time Barack Obama became the 44th President-Elect of the United States of America. As I sat in my bedroom and watched history unfold, I was somewhat hesitant to embrace this declaration. After all, California and North Carolina had not been counted. I wanted to wait until all the numbers were in. Then it happened. All across this country and all across the world, people began to react. 250,000 people of different ethnicities and backgrounds in Chicago...wow... all there to see one man.
I admit that managed to keep it all together, until I saw the people gathered at Ebeneezer Baptist Church. There's something about church that's incredibly liberating. It has been the cornerstone of so many movements in American history. When American slaves had nothing but hope in a better tomorrow, they found strength in the Word of God and in spirituals that they sang as they fled to freedom. The civil rights movement began in churches, and in its wake pushed church at the forefront of the social justice battle. So it was fitting that as I saw those church folk dancing and celebrating in a spirit of praise that my heart cried out like never before. First, my breath hitched as I struggled for words. Then I found my vision blurred by incredulous tears. Then I fell to my face as a spirit of thanks overwhelmed me.
Why the thanks? Because America is the result of silent fervent prayers and steadfast faith in the most difficult times. From the soldier in battlefield...to the young man sitting at a segregated lunch counter waiting to be served...to the first woman to cast a vote in an election...to a mother who works two jobs to give her children an education...to the young man who walks through a crumbling drug infested city just to go to school...to a the son of a Kenyan immigrant running for the highest office in the land. America crossed a vital threshold last night due in large part to the prayers of many who never got to see those prayers answered.
Always remember that you are the result of a prayer and that you are the fulfillment of a promise from God. Keep on praying. Keep on believing. We have a lot more prayers and promises left in us yet. I thank God for Our America, and I thank God for being born at this challenging time. But as long as the challenges come, I will pray without ceasing, for I know the answers will come when the time is right.
Comments