Life With Our Little Ladies: The Big Election 2016

Joe and I are sitting here watching the election results roll in. Everyone is talking about how our children and grandchildren will look back on this moment and ask us what we thought about it all.
There is so much I could say, but I will just say this for now.

These campaigns and the whole 2016 election process will go down as one of the messiest and nastiest in history. If nothing else, it has revealed just how broken we are as people (and as a country) and just how much we need Jesus. I walked into the booth today thankful for the freedom to vote, but disappointed in the two people our country has chosen as our options, saddened by the hatred this election has uncovered (not just among candidates, but among friends and family members). I drove home praying to our sovereign God who is in control and has a plan no matter the results of the election are. My hope isn't in either imperfect candidate. My hope is in Jesus and because of that I can go to sleep in peace tonight.

One day when our girls ask, we will paint the whole picture of both sides. At this point, we have chosen to talk to them about the election in general terms, but not burden them with partisan views or our opinions of the candidates. We won't until they are old enough to process the realities themselves. We share as much as they want to know in a very age appropriate way, while pointing them to Jesus and encouraging them to pray for our leaders.

I acknowledge the celebration and historical significance of having a woman on the ballot this election. The impact Susan B. Anthony's fight has had on where we stand today as women in society is amazing. I just wish the woman on the ballot was someone I would encourage my daughter's to look up to. Before you think otherwise, I feel the same way about man on the ticket. Though Hillary Clinton is accomplished in many areas, she has many issues surrounding her candidacy (as does Donald Trump) that I won't overlook or celebrate in the name of feminism, history, lofty promises or the lesser of two evils.

My newsfeed is filled with pictures of people cheering about how a woman president will give their daughters so much to hope for their future, proudly wearing buttons that say "So my daughter knows she can be president".

As a mother of three girls, I will wake up tomorrow morning and look my girls in the eyes with the same message, despite how these results add up tonight. I will tell them "they can be" not because a flawed woman is elected president or not, but because Jesus is who He says He is and that doesn't change. "They can be" because He is.

On that note, I leave you with some sweet videos we took of the girls on debate day!

Ella asked us about voting today. Who do you think you should vote for today, Daddy? FDR or Obama?