The rest is garbage.

Yuck.  Disgusting.  Seriously?   For.   the.   love.   Sigh.   

This election is garbage.  I spent entirely too much time last night reading and ranting.  This was my favorite.  The rest was despressing.

I was subjecting my sweet spouse to a tirade about leaked videos and leaked emails when I stopped short.

Truth is I've sent emails I hope don't surface. I've had mean conversations I hope weren't recorded. Judgmental, angry, selfish, nasty.

I'm not excusing anyone's bad behavior. Not in the least. How we talk does matter. What we post and send and mail and think affects people and displays the character of our heart. All of us.

If our worst days were made public we'd all stand condemned . Dark and scary.

So last night I turned off Twitter and quit scrolling through political commentary.  I pulled my youngest over and we went through her preschool bag.  My kid likes to paint.  I love her bright colors and cheery lines.  Her stop sign made me think.

The function of a stop sign is not to make cars immobile. You don't stop permanently. The purpose of a stop sign is so that you can proceed safely.

Consider this your stop sign. Pause here Saturday morning and consider the view.

We all stand condemned. But for Grace.

This stop and then go pattern happens all throughout the stories of Jesus. Women were treated like trash until Jesus stood at their side. People's pasts defined their futures until God held out his hand. Lepors came to his side and then left clean. Bullies met Jesus and went away different. Come. Be Changed. Go.

​It happened in my life.

I'm not going to tell you how to vote. I am going to recommend a way to live.

Pause. Take stock. Don't like the view? Accept the reset. Choose Grace. The rest is garbage.