Grief for the State of our Union

My husband was a Sr VP with a major sports organization, in charge of business development. He was with the them for 30 years.

He knew Trump and his family, long before the presidential idea became a reality….

He would come home from trips and tell me, “He is the most narcissistic caricature of a human being that I have ever met!” Every single time, Trump was a joke. Especially the part about how he was a sloppy eater and always had cocktail sauce, or something, dripping down his shirt!

We just chalked him up to being a celebrity bafoon, who loved himself and the spotlight, no matter the cost. We hadn’t known about his bankruptcies, with Russians bailing him out, or his racism, and his abuses of women. Why would we look into all of those indiscretions? He was just a joke.

We were lifelong Republicans, and thought that his presidential bid was a publicity stunt and didn’t even consider he could win the primaries.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party had about 17 other serious contenders , and as those men battled it out, State by State, Trump flew under the radar and actually won. We couldn’t believe that that man was our choice!

Our friends felt the same way back then…. At the time, most lifelong Republicans couldn’t even begin to imagine voting Democrat, so many either voted for a write in candidate, or just didn’t vote at all. Many thought, “How bad could it be?” It’s just 4 years, and at least we had a majority of Democrats in Congress, and a somewhat balanced Supreme Court, so there would be checks and balances in place, when he tried to do stupid things.

His first term showed that he knew nothing about running a country, or even the basics of Government. He had advisors around him who would often keep him in line, telling him that he couldn’t do certain things, just because he was the President. He often fired those advisors, or they quit, but there was some restraint to his Authoritarian inclinations.

Then came the election denial conspiracies, and finally Jan 6th, which shocked the WHOLE nation, and world! Even our Republican friends were outraged.

Unfortunately, the process of accountability came too slowly and Trump had 4 years to plan his revenge tour. He surrounded himself with supporters, flooded social media with propaganda, built his cult like following, and had advisors draw up the plans for Project 2025.

He had celebrities, and billionaires, with their own self interests, pay for the propaganda, while his court cases slowly crept through the justice system. He vowed revenge on every single person or organization that called for his criminal behavior to be brought to justice.

His only hope to avoid accountability, was his reelection.

Now here we are and most of our “friends” had backed Trump. Many are opening their eyes, but it’s taken too long….

After his election, he pardoned everyone who had been convicted for January 6th, and began to implement Project 2025 on day 1 of his new reign.

I still find myself stunned that the guy from The Apprentice, now has a cult like following, and is being allowed to do so much damage, with no restraint, or balance of power.

I’ve also had many “friends” unfriend me, who ironically are mostly ministers that I used to minister with, or people who have claimed to be Christians their whole lives. I had been a Chaplain and grief counselor, and many judged me as being deceived.

Most of those people are not following Jesus! They are following a social form of Christianity that’s Christian Nationalism, or even simply Christian cultural moralism, that wants to force their cultural beliefs on everyone else. Those things twist scripture and do the opposite of what Jesus told us to do!

The thing about having a background in grief counseling is that, one day I realized that I was truly in grief.

Grief for our country, and the loss of what she used to be.

Grief of the ideals that I used to think she represented.

Grief for the friends who decided that our friendship wasn’t worth having, because of differing opinions.

Grief for the friends whose opinions have become so extreme that I can’t recognize them any longer. They just seem so indoctrinated that they’re blind to reality. Even when there are real time videos, from multiple angles, going frame by frame, that prove that American Citizens are being murdered by our Government, without accountability, they still hold onto the propaganda.

Grief for the liberties that are being stripped away, as the MAGA supporters aren’t even “getting the memo”, because they’re stuck in their propaganda bubbles.

Grief for the threats to our Constitution and our Democracy.

Mostly though, grief for the people who have been targeted as the enemy, who are truly suffering from this administration.

The peaceful immigrants, who’ve committed no crimes.

People of color, who are being stripped of their histories, and are being targeted again, because of the color of their skin.

People in the LGBTQ+ community.

Poor Americans whose social safety nets have been cut.

The elderly, veterans and disabled, who have also had services slashed.

The millions of Americans who can’t afford healthcare anymore.

Now, anyone who opposes this administration, to the point of being murdered by our Federal police force.

Sometimes the grief feels overwhelming, and like it’s just too much.

It’s in those times that I go back to my training, and the things that I know to be true.

Nothing surprises my Heavenly Father. He knows the End from the Beginning, and He will allow things to happen, because of free will, even when we can’t understand it, but in the End He wins! This doesn’t mean that I stay silent and just let things happen around me. No, He’s commanded ME to speak out against this false brand of Christianity. It does mean that He knows what will happen, and it might not be what I wished it would be, and that’s okay.

Because of His Son, Jesus, I have become His daughter, and He loves me more than I could even love my own children. My first son died, and so I understand the love of a parent more than many. If He loves me more than that, then I can completely trust His will for my life. This life is “but a vapor” and then we have eternity!

As His child, I want to please Him. He is the only one whose opinion matters, so when I listen to Him, and do the things that He commands me to do, it really doesn’t matter what other people think of me. Jesus was persecuted by the Religious People of His day, so why would I think it couldn’t happen to me?

This isn’t a popularity contest. Jesus Himself talks about the “broad road that leads to destruction” that would happen in “the church” at “the End”. That means that MOST people who call themselves Christians will be deceived. I can see that the road, that many people who claim to be Christians today are on, is leading us to a place of destruction.

My job is to pray daily, for Him to lead me to the Narrow Gate, as I do my best to remain humble, and by His side, showing HIS love to the people in the world that He brings into my life! Many of whom would never set foot in a church, or be welcomed by many even if they tried!

The warning of being deceived applies to myself as well. It’s like a neon sign in my brain, warning ME to pray that He keeps me from deception. To stay humble before Him, and careful to seek His wisdom in the things that I do and say. Anyone who thinks that they can’t be deceived, has been deceived already!

In order to please Him, I MUST love ALL others, even those who persecute me. I must stand up for the marginalized, while also praying for those who are marginalizing them. That’s a tough one but I work on it daily.

As I do these things, it does give me peace, although it doesn’t take away the grief completely.

I am patriotic, but not at the expense of losing my love for everyone else. I pray for my country, and all of the people of the world. One thing is not exclusive of the other.

I also pray constantly for the true Jesus Followers, in MY family of God, who often grow weary by trying to speak His truth, and show the world HIS love, while many “Christians” are driving people in the world away from really knowing His character, and how much Our Father loves them!