Election...

It was 4 years ago that I raced around the South Ward of Trenton, spent some time in a makeshift campaign headquarters in a room above a neighborhood pub (poor campaigns take free space where they can get free space), met with an election board about improper ballots and celebrated a first place finish, but not an outright victory, in a funeral home (see previous parenthetical note). Yes, I’m talking about the 2006 Trenton City Municipal Election and my race for the South Ward City Council seat.

Today is the 2010 Trenton City Municipal Election. I’m told there are 39 entrants for 7 council seats and 1 mayoral position.

I am waxing nostalgic, though not lamenting my distance from the show taking place today [in dripping irony, I understand that Ringling Brothers will make its way to Trenton tomorrow—they probably feared that the political circus would trump their own business!].

I had spent from late January until the second Tuesday in May knocking on doors almost every afternoon and meeting residents. Additional activity included five debates, two commercials (one in Spanish), several radio spots, almost daily print ads, purchasing and putting up signage, formatting and printing fliers, building a website and attending city council meetings. Those months are a blur.

I remember vividly Election Day though. From a lengthy and trying period of frenetic activity, doing all I could do including canvassing the night before until 9pm, the day of reckoning arrived. It was out of my hands. I could not affect the outcome. As citizens entered the voting booth and made a decision, I was no longer a participant but a spectator. The “will of the people” and all that.

I remember feeling some resignation, a sense of helplessness, and like I had gotten strapped into a roller coaster that was now on its chain-driven incline getting ready to approach that first gut wrenching drop. I also remember having the pressure of working to win slide off my back.

This got me reflecting on how our paths to salvation mirror that day. No matter what we do, our eternal security is in God’s hands. We don’t earn grace or work for it or knock on enough doors for it. We can’t promise our way to redemption or win a debate to secure eternal purpose. In the end, it is a gift. God makes the decision, or more accurately made the decision 2000 years ago. The Good News is that Jesus has voted for you and that is the only election you need win.