"Just you and Me"

Several years ago, I started this blog as a place where I could safely talk about politics and other controversial issues. However, since then, I've discovered that I absolutely hate politics and other controversial issues, because they were shoved down my throat in my past, they make me cringe now, and the best way I've personally found to make people stop yelling at me online is to 1) unfriend them and/or 2) turn them into villains in my fiction stories.

But since its inception, this blog has become a therapeutic place for me to write and share my spiritual journey with others far, far away from the din of social media, where people seem to come out of the woodwork to tell me how wrong my political views supposedly are.

Well, OK, but you're on my turf now. I hope you understand that my views are my own -- they're not dictated to me by my church, my pastor, my employer, or even the leaders of the political party that I usually vote for (Republican). Since I get almost 100% of my news now from Facebook, politics is in my face all the time now. I've seen some disturbing things that I would like to address briefly here, if you'll indulge me. And then I'll go right back into self-therapy. (Once upon a time, there lived a middle-aged half-Hispanic woman who just wanted to spend a quiet afternoon minding her own business on her couch with her cats...)

Almost eight years ago, I stood in line for an hour to vote for Sarah Palin. I thought it was worth it, even though the presidential candidate she was running with lost the race. And I thought I wouldn't hesitate to vote for Sarah Palin again... until recently.

OK, take a step back for a second. Hillary Clinton... versus Donald Trump. Is this what the American presidential race has become -- a total joke? I wouldn't naturally respect either of them as my commander-in-chief. It would be kind of like whenever my effeminate birth father would spank me with a belt (which would barely graze my bottom) -- ooo, I'm so scared of you, buddy!

(For the record, I've planned on voting for the guy whose dad and brother were president before him. You know, the guy whose children are half-Hispanic. I think he might understand where I'm coming from. And I think it's safe to say that being president is kind of already in his gene pool. I would be honored to stand in line for an hour to vote for him if need be. Not that anyone cares who I plan to vote for, but I gotta tell you, my voter registration card is up to date, and I'm not afraid to use it.)

But I will have to respect whoever gets elected into the White House (regardless of my authority issues) simply because of their position of authority over me, in the spirit of Romans 13. I have been praying that men and women who love God and want to do life His way would get elected into office. I have also been praying that whoever God wants to be elected into the White House would have favor with the American people. It's been interesting to see how things have been shifting around so far.

Unfortunately, for me, one early casualty of this election has been my disillusionment. I have almost 100% lost respect for Sarah Palin. I used to look up to her as a role model. I used to want to meet her. Now I can't really believe anything she says. Wait. Let me put this in Trump-esque vocabulary for her: Sarah, you're fired.

End of political rant. Back to therapy.

"Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God..." (Psalm 146:3-5)

"A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land." (Psalm 68:5-6)

I mentioned this briefly in a previous post, but in recent years when I've had a disillusioning, heartbreaking, or otherwise world-shaking experience, God has comforted me by telling me, "It's still just you and Me."

No matter what happens in my life, it's still just me and God. No matter who comes and goes in my life, it's still just me and God. If a friend publicly rejects me and shames me, it's still just me and God. If my cat dies, it's still just me and God. If I end up walking away from my family and all of my relatives, it's still just me and God. If all of my dreams die and are never resuscitated or replaced, it's still just me and God.

Even though it can be excruciating, I really am OK with it. The most important Being in the universe... the highest Authority in the universe... the Creator of the universe... wants a relationship with me? Why? I'll never understand it. But I gladly accept it.

He's the only One who's always available for me to talk to, hang out with, get counseling from, ask questions of, throw a tantrum with, cry to, and want obsessively. He's the only One who can handle it. And He's the only One who is OK for me to relate to that way nonstop. That's how He intended it in the first place. That's how He designed me. He wants me to worship Him.

And I like my relationship with Him. I want it to go even deeper. He wants that, too. (He keeps saying so through pastors at my church.)

And yet, today while I've been working through another emotional disillusionment in my personal life, I asked God if He was going to tell me that it's still just Him and me again. He replied, "It's you, Me, and a bunch of people who care about you."

OK. I'll gladly take that, too.

And this can go in a positive direction, too.

No matter what happens in my life, it's still just me and God. No matter how many people love and accept me, it's still just me and God. If all of my friends publicly praise me and honor me, it's still just me and God. If both my cats miraculously live to be 50 years old each, and if the people from Guinness come knocking on my door to find out my secret to feline longevity, it's still just me and God. If I end up being permanently knit into multiple families for life, and if I have more invitations to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, Easter, and every other holiday you can think of, it's still just me and God. If I end up becoming the world's greatest worship pastor, novelist, songwriter, and rock star who ever lived, it's still just me and God.

Tonight when I feed my cats before bedtime, it will be just me and God. When I go to bed alone, it will be just me and God. While I sleep and the angels guard my home, my dreams, and the private concert that my Father will sing over me and that no one else will hear, it will be just me and Him.

(For the record, regardless of what happens in this year's elections, we as Christians must cling to God as our only hope, rather than some lame political candidate. Ooo, I'm so scared!)