What if? We have all heard that little phrase. We have probably used it ourselves in dealing with some hypothetical situation. Those two little words do serve a useful purpose at times though. We have a little over one month left before the official Election Day (Nov. 5) for President and other elected offices. Polls tell us that the race is neck and neck. There is discourse about popular vote totals and then of course the Electoral College as the decider constitutionally. Media coverage of various kinds is literally round the clock and ubiquitous. You cannot go very long or very far without hearing about the election and its candidates and issues and projections one way or the other. Most of us have made up our minds. Some of us, a while back. There are still some who are undecided. It may just be that they are the ones, out of millions of votes cast, that will decide the outcome in certain critically important states. This will determine who will run the country for the next four years.
I am 77 years old. I first voted for president in 1968, and this will be the fifteenth presidential election for me. I believe that of the previous fourteen, I voted for the eventual winner four times and the loser, 10 times. Translated: for 40 years of my adult life the person who was President was not the person for whom I voted. Now, some of those I did not vote for turned out to be pretty good. Some of those for whom I voted, not so much. I look back and ask myself “what was I thinking?”
And yet, here I am after 56 years of voting, and with a track record of failure, still caring about all of this, still caring about my country and our leadership and the values we have long espoused but which now seem to be close to being pushed aside and replaced with other, perhaps more popular values, but without maintaining the values so treasured for hundreds of years. In the fourteen elections where I have voted for president, I must say that at least half of the time my vote was actually aimed more against a person being elected rather than for the person whom I really wanted. That is how votes go sometimes. Often enough the choice left a lot to be desired in my estimation.
So, I circle around to my opening phrase. What if? What if I relinquished my vote? What if I took the Surrender Novena seriously and prayed: “Lord, I surrender my ballot into your hands. It is all Yours. Take care of everything.” What if I really did turn the whole matter over to the Lord and let go of the ideas of “wasting my ballot” if I write in another name or “not being civic-minded” if I don’t vote. You get my drift. What if I really, totally, completely place my whole voting experience into Our Lord’s hands? What if I ask the Lord to lead me by His kindly light” into the truth He wants me to affirm this year on November 5? “Lord what do You want me to do on November 5? How do I cast my ballot?” And I believe He will indicate to me what is the Divine Will. For there is a Divine Will about everything. If it is important to us in any way, it is also important to God. I have decided that I will do this and I will abide by the word that comes to me from the Lord no matter what that is. I step out in trust.
After all, it can’t be much worse than a voting record of 4—10. But here’s the thing. I have been praying the Surrender Novena a lot recently. And really putting the gnarliest of situations into the Lord’s hands, not trying to figure it all out or reconcile differences or fix some unfixable situation or change somebody’s heart or life. And you know what I have found? That the Lord actually does things. Unexpected things. Unlikely things. And He does take care of things. And my worry level decreases. I am able to see myself out from under a burden, or a yoke that is not light. And my trust in God has increased. So that is what I am doing on November 5. What if all the Undecideds did this? What if?
May the Lord bless you today and give you His peace.
