This time, hate won but I will continue in faith.

Yesterday was Election Day. Yesterday I filled out my ballot and hoped that what I was voting for was right. I wasn't sure about how I would feel about this election. The campaign trail was long and gruesome. Between the 2 major party candidates, the choice was between someone whose platform ideas I understood and shared (in a general sense although the actual plans for completing those platforms definitely could use work) but said terrible things and had done terrible things or someone whose platform I didn't agree with for the most part and had also said and done some terrible things. Neither option was pleasing to me. If I had to choose just between those 2, I would have chosen for the one whose platform I agreed with.

Over the past few elections, I seen or heard about people becoming extremely emotional by the outcomes. Again, this isn't something I have ever experienced. I think this is because of my religious upbringing and eternal perspective. I believe that God loves us and in order to help us grow and learn He allows us to experience trials and hardship. Sometimes these hardships are due to our own decisions, sometimes because of the decisions for others, and sometimes simply because they help us grow. This is where faith and perspective help me feel secure, happy, and confident. I understand that this life isn't the end game. I believe the laws of justice and mercy will ensure that everything works out when that appointed time comes. Part of faith is learning to continue doing what you believe is good and right even when things aren't going the way you plan.

Picture of the saying above my bed.

So this morning as I perused through Facebook, I struggled to understand people crying simply because one candidate lost. I was a little confused as to why they wondered what they would tell their kids about this election outcome. I couldn't understand why, when this president-elect hasn't done anything yet, people were so afraid. However, now I am beginning to see but my feelings aren't because of who won or who lost. Mine come because of what we as a people, as fellow Americans and human beings, are doing to each other. 

People who said they are against hate and couldn't vote for someone who spewed so much hate are now hating, bullying, and demeaning a group of people they blame for the election outcome. People who share the same race or ethnicity are anger and threatening violence against their own if they ever find out they voted for the president-elect. People are telling other people to pack their bags and leave the country; sometimes this is adults directed towards anyone who said they'd leave if that candidate won and others have been young adults directed towards classmates. Why would we treat each other so?

There is so much hating, judging, name calling, finger pointing, pouting, gloating, and other self-centered, bully like behavior going on that I am sure Satan is laughing with delight. As of right now, I feel like he is the only winner in this election. 

I just wish people would stop for a moment and take a deep breath. Instead of focusing on what they are feeling and going through, think about what others may be feeling and going through. Try to understand why they made the choice they did.  

As I watch the events unfold (riots, protests, threats, and more in addition to what people are posting online), I feel as though I am getting a glimpse of what Mormon, Ether and Moroni felt as they watched as their civilization divided into 2 groups and then started fighting. In their stories, after battles of who was right, they went to war. In Ether's tale, all but 2 people were killed. In Mormon and Moroni's tale, one side prevailed but only after extreme losses and in the process, they lost their humanity. Is this what it has come to? Are we destined to go this same route? I hope that we do not, "but if not" (Daniel 3:18) I know that God has a greater plan and if I trust in Him things may still be difficult but in the end, it will work out.

Perspective: Its About Point of View

I have often had this thought and after rereading this article, I loved how my thoughts were described by someone else. The following quotes come from portions of this talk given at a General Conference session for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

"Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance..." Depending on the distance, our perspective can change. "It is like being in a forest and having a tree in front of us. Unless we step back a little, we will not be able to appreciate what a forest really is."

When small children learn to work on puzzles, they often become frustrated when the pieces don't quickly and easily fit together. My own daughter has said that the puzzle is broken or missing pieces when she can't find ones that fit together.

Like the story about the forest, looking at only a few pieces in the puzzle makes it hard to see the big picture. But sometimes in order to put the pieces together, you need to focus on the the small pieces to see how they fit; to match up the edges and align the designs.

Even when multiple pieces are starting to come together, we can make guesses as to what the picture might contain and even have a pretty good idea of what the final image will be.

But until the entire puzzle is put together and finished, we cannot understand how or what effect the picture many have on us or appreciate the image or its complexity.

I have started to compare life to a giant puzzle. There are parts we understand and parts we don't. As we slowly connect these pieces together, we can see a theme or guess at what the general idea is about. However, it won't be until we connect all the pieces, in their correct places, that we will gain an understanding of the picture or plan before us.

We never know how much of our puzzle is complete especially when compared to someone else's puzzle or their standards. Sometimes we put the pieces together at different starting points and find it hard to make connects between what they see and think when compared to what we see and think. We won't be able to understand what others see or believe until we can see something from their perspective or use their process of thinking to see where they started and what path they used in order to reach their conclusions.