The arc of the moral universe can be seen today to be bending towards justice....

Today is January 20^th, a historic day in the story of my beloved country. My country has a distinctly checkered past, many of our actions have not been things I would have chosen for us to do, but what’s done is done. Today the first African American president will be sworn in as President of the United States. I have chills writing that. It is indeed a marker of a remarkable change in the making, a distinct sign that the shadow side of the America of my childhood is stealing away into the night. Not a moment too soon.

I choose to believe that today is a new beginning, that something extraordinary is in store for us. We will begin today to take baby steps towards an America that cares for its people, no matter what or who they are. An America that is more kind and just, an America, where the taking care of each other is everyone’s responsibility. In other words, the village is returning.

I do not believe that Barack Obama has superhuman abilities or the solution to everything. I do believe he is a decent and principled man, and that he will lead us from a place of humility and a desire to serve rather than a place of personal aggrandizement and hubris. That alone will make the coming years inestimably better than the last.

I will not always agree with him and sometimes he may make me grumble. He will make errors and stumble, for that is what human beings do. I will not abandon him nor forsake him, for in a village that is what we do for each other, we help each other when we stumble, we engage in decent and respectful discourse when we disagree and we forgive each other, again and again and yet again. Out of this we create beloved community.

President Obama I am filled today with light and hope. I have never had a President I felt I could really trust. I believe in you and your model of servant leadership. May you find the strength and courage to guard these ideals and bring humility and sanity to our country and its policies. When you look behind you, I will be there.

May the Spirit hold and guide you.

Praying for courage and wisdom for us all, Suzanne