Goodness… I feel all the feels when it is election time.

Hope. Dread. Joy. Heartache.

Whether the candidate I vote for wins or not, I don’t know what the future holds – for this country or anything else in this life. But I will always try to do my part and hope for the best. There is always hope, as long as we choose it.

Dread is sneaky. Elections can be scary when you start going down the rabbit holes of what ifs. No matter what your stance is on any position or issue, fear and dread have a hayday on all sides.

There is joy in the right to vote. In taking responsibility for what I can do. In appreciating the ability to do something that others fought and gave their lives for me to be able to do. There is joy in the privilege of voting. Of knowing that, no matter the outcome, I did my part in the election process that many others wish they had the opportunity for.

But the heartache. Oof. It is gut wrenching how elections tear people apart. I know incredibly loving people on all sides, who want to do what is right, who have a heart to help anyone they can. But our ideas of how to do that may be different.

I fully believe that the candidates and the issues we’re voting on are not the answers. But they are an effort. And they can make a difference.

There is no savior in this election. There are only humans. Humans running for office. Humans writing policies and amendments. Humans being appointed by other humans. And we are all a mess. Or maybe even a disaster.

But as a Christian, regardless of who wins, I believe that it is my duty to pray for whoever is in office. Not to throw stones. God can use the most unlikely and unqualified people to do some of the greatest things. We can know this because He has done it, many times.

I just hope we can remember who’s in our corner in real life when things get hard. It’s more likely we’ll find someone we disagree with politically than whoever is in the White House.