THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Friends, on yesterday like I have done for the past three years now, I worked at the polling place for this presedential election. Although, I can't really describe it, I would say that there was a feeling of nervous excitement among myself, and my fellow poll workers, which happens to be all african americans. We didn't really talk about "IT", but all of us new that this was going to wind up being an historic day. I would liken the feeling that everyone had to the feeling that the slaves must have had who knew that Harriet Tubman was coming by to pick them up on the "Underground Railroad."

You don't really act any different so as not to tip "Massa's" hand. But, you just go about your day like everything is normal. That's how our day went yesterday. For all intents and purposes it was a normal day, with the exception of the enormous crowds of people. Our polling place is at a college, and we had giant crowds of students waiting, some for over TWO HOURS to vote. We had all prayed that God would do something extraordinary yesterday, and from the swell of the crowds our prayers were being answered.

At 8:15pm, fifteen minutes after the polls closed, and we still had 12 people waiting to vote; one of my poll workers received a call from her daughter-in-law who informed her that Obama was ahead in the election by 297 electoral votes. Although, no one said anything, we kinda of looked at one another with that "eye", and knew inside that some special was getting ready to happen. At 8:40pm, my fellow pollworker's daughter-in-law called again to say that Obama had 338 electoral votes, and that John McCain had just called and conceded the election to Barack Obama.

After this call, we were all kinda of giddy with excitement, as we bounced around the polling place. Our last voter left the poll at 9:15pm, and we could hardly wait to close the doors. After they left, we had our own private celebration, thanking and praising God for what he had just down. And then as if on cue, we all began to cry tears of joy. It was flood of emotion that came over us , and a burden lifted, for after 400 years of slavery, and oppression, God put a black man into the white house.

When I got home around 11:30pm, my wife was still up watching the election results. We congratulated each other on our "historic moment." We then toasted each other with a small glass of wine, and went to bed. "Mission Accomplished." When we woke up this morning, we both looked at each other, shook our heads, and said "wow". No further words were needed.

I'll leave you guys with this saying from my wonderful mother who passed in 2003, long before this historic moment. She would quite often say when God would do things like he did last night, "Baby, the Lord operates in mysterious ways." Be Blessed family!