A Post-Election Day Meme

This once-every-four-years occurrence seems like a good opportunity for a meme.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS YEAR'S ELECTION RESULTS:
This is an historic election, and a special one in the hearts and lives of a people that have not been well-treated by our country; I'm thankful for this opportunity to rejoice with those who are rejoicing. For other people that have not been well-treated by our country, it is an outcome with horrifying potential. I probably won't agree with much of anything Obama does as President, but I am moved by this moment, and I pray that it will do much to heal deep wounds in our nation.


A QUICK REVIEW OF THE ELECTIONS OF MY LIFE:

1980: RONALD REAGAN

1. I REMEMBER: nothing about this election. I was one year old when Reagan was elected.
2. I WAS: a toddler and preschooler... living in Texas and Colorado.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: I learned to read.
   

1984: RONALD REAGAN

1. I REMEMBER: not much. I don't remember this election. My husband, however, attended a Reagan Rally in Oklahoma and remembers the confetti.
   
2. I WAS: 5-8 years old and we moved back in Texas.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: I professed faith in Christ and started school.

1988: GEORGE BUSH (Sr.)

1. I REMEMBER: not a whole lot about that election. I wasn't politically-minded in my early years.
   
2. I WAS: 9-12 years old and lived in Texas.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: I started sporting poofy bangs and tight-rolling my faded jeans.
   

1992: BILL CLINTON

1. I REMEMBER: being appalled that one of my friends voted for Clinton in our school's mock election. ("Don't you know he's for killing babies?," I asked, aghast that anyone I knew would vote for him.) Little did I know that 10 miles away, my future husband was casting his ballot for Perot in their school's mock election, because he thought Perot could single-handedly pay off the national debt.
   
2. I WAS: 13-16 years old and still living in Texas.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: I lived recklessly... rebellious towards my parents, I tried all sorts of foolish things, ignoring the Holy Spirit's warnings in my heart every time. Those years have cost me much sorrow and self-loathing... but serve as a reminder and warning to me of the lure and price of sin.
   

1996: BILL CLINTON

1. I REMEMBER: knowing that Dole didn't stand a chance. Kind of like McCain this election, this modern world looks delightfully on young, hip people and scoffs at the old and battle-tested.
   
2. I WAS: 17-20 years old, and lived in Texas for the first two years and went away to college in Arkansas for the last two years.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: In God's mercy, He drew me back from the bad choices I had made and set me in a high place. I had a blast at college, made friends, and even got elected class president. The last year of this time was when I met Doug and, for the first time in my life, found someone I absolutely couldn't stand to be away from. I met the love of my life, and he asked me to marry him.
   

2000: GEORGE W. BUSH

1. I REMEMBER: SO much about this campaign, election, and everything. I took a "Campaigns and Elections" course in the Spring (during the primaries) and then an "American Presidency" course in the Fall (during the election). In fact, I skipped a class session to go to a Bush/Cheney rally where Doug & I met Dick Cheney. It was the first time I could vote for President. That election may end up being the most vividly remembered one of my life.
   
2. I WAS: 21-24 years old and lived in Arkansas, the outskirts of Washington D.C., and then we moved back to Texas.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: I became a wife to Doug and a mother to Ethan and Baxter. Prior to motherhood, I worked in the Arkansas legislative session and for the State of Texas in Washington D.C. I gave up the "perfect" job for something even more perfect and prized: being at home with my sweet baby.
   

2004: GEORGE W. BUSH

1. I REMEMBER: thinking John Kerry was willing to say anything to get elected. He came off as so scripted, out-of-touch, and insincere-- in a way that is similar to Mitt Romney this year, I think.
   
2. I WAS: 25-28 years old and lived in Texas, China, Texas again, and Turkey.
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: we had two more children (Maranatha, our first daughter, and Silas), moved all around the world, and grew in faith and perseverance through some difficult challenges. I would never want to re-live those years (except, perhaps, the precious time we had in China and the sweet moments when I first "met" our children), but I am thankful for the lessons we learned and how God grew us through the struggles.
   

2008: BARACK OBAMA

1. I REMEMBER: feeling that my "team" was done after the South Carolina primary, when Thompson kept Huckabee from winning, and McCain began having the momentum that comes from "inevitability". I will always be glad that our party didn't choose Mitt, and still believe Huckabee was the only Republican who could have, possibly, beaten Obama.
   
2. I WAS: 29 and lived in Turkey... and who knows where we'll be or end up by the end of this four years?
   
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS: we shall see... I am hoping and praying that there are some promises that will not be kept.
   

SO THAT's my election meme. Maybe you learned something? It was helpful for me to examine my life in four-year increments.

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If you'd like to participate in this one (conceived in this brain'o'mine this morning), just follow these simple rules:

• First, post three sentences about your thoughts on this year's election results
• Then, starting with the year nearest to when you were born, post the election year, the winner, and these three things:

1. What, if anything, you remember about the campaign/election/outcome.
2. How old you were & where you lived during that President's four year term.
3. What happened in your life during that four-year period?

You can use this format (if ya like):

1. I REMEMBER:
2. I WAS:
3. DURING THAT FOUR YEARS:
   

So if you want to participate, come on! And leave a comment so I know where to find you. It'll be a fun way to review the elections of our lives.

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May God bless America during the next four years. In both good times and in times of suffering, and in the times when we are delighted and the times when we are discouraged, God is good and has a plan that we can rest in, for individuals and for nations.

Father, "may all the peoples praise You!" We ask for wisdom and grace to be poured out on Barack Obama. That he will lead honorably, that he will protect the people's ability to live peaceably and quietly. We ask that You will move his heart towards mercy for the unborn. We thank You for Your sovereign hand that leads us in all times.

We ask for grace for our nation, that Your will will be done in all things, and that You would allow us to act in accordance with Your will. Use this next four years to sharpen and change us into Your likeness. Continue to teach us how to honor You and be thankful in all circumstances. "May all the peoples praise You, O Lord!" Thank you for Your grace and peace. Amen.