Sabbath Devotional :: French Fries, Fear, and Faith

In December 2016 I sat across from my 30-year-old son Chase at a table in the cafeteria in Chicago’s Art Institute. While he dipped his fries in ketchup and mayonnaise (a taste treat he acquired on his mission to the Netherlands), he reached for my phone.

“Here, Mom, I’m going to put the phone numbers of your state representatives into your phone. Who are they?” he said.

“I have no idea,” I answered. I was a new citizen of Utah and really didn’t pay attention to such things.

Tapping away at other buttons on my phone he pulled up a site that tells you who your representatives are by your zip code.

“Here they are!” Chase told me their names. None of them sounded familiar.

“Okay, I’m going to put Senator Mike Lee’s name and contact number into your phone. This way you can let him know your opinions on matters.”

I frumped and grumbled, unwilling to be forced into political activity when I knew nothing about it — other than that the previous November’s election left me deeply shaken.

“So, tell me, Mom. What do you want to say to Senator Lee? What are issues that matter to you?” Chase asked, still tapping things into my phone.

“Gosh, I don’t know. I haven’t studied any issues. I don’t know. You really should stop. Give me back my phone.” I snatched my phone out of his hands.

We moved onto other topics of conversation (like his impending fatherhood, our travel schedules, his job with the United States Digital Service in DC, and my various projects). We left the Art Institute, delighted to have overlapped in our travels long enough to enjoy lunch together and off we went to our different parts of the world.

Shortly thereafter I watched the farewell celebration for the Obamas knowing that my son was in the vast crowd with my daughter-in-law. I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick message saying something wistful and loving.

Imagine my surprise when within seconds I got a text back with the caller being Senator Mike Lee! What!?

It was, in fact, NOT Senator Mike Lee but my son Chase telling me that he was having a melancholy and wonderful time. Short and sweet.

Apparently whatever he did with my phone at the Art Institute didn’t quite work the way he’d hoped. I sorted that out, restored Chase’s name where it belonged and never have properly installed Senator Lee’s contact info into my phone.

Flash forward to last night. I had heard about a new Utah House bill HB481 which proposes to rename one of Utah’s loveliest highways after our current president. I am not in favor of this. I crafted a three paragraph letter voicing my concerns, bringing up economic and international consequences I saw, and checked and rechecked my message to make sure I hit the right tone between respect for their office and stalwartness in defending my position. Then I cut and pasted my message (sent first to the proposer of the bill) and then to all 74 of his colleagues).

This morning I discovered a few replies to my comment that were reassuring to me.

What a distance I have come. How did I move from the techno-phobic and the essentially politically illiterate American I was in late December 2016 (a month before MWEG was a glimmer in Sharlee Glenn’s eye) into the drafter of opinions and the writer of Op Eds?

It is because I have — for the most part anyway — put my fear behind me for a greater good.

When Joshua was faced with the challenge of overtaking a country and claiming it (an problematic issue of a different sort I won’t get into here), God spoke clearly:

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

Be strong. Be courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be deterred by how little you think you know. God is with you wherever you go.

And we have President Nelson’s shout out to the sisters from October Conference, October 2015:

“We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices.”

And then there’s this verse: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Letting go of fear. Accepting God’s guidance. This is what makes the difference. I could write all those representatives because I exchanged my fear and lack for trust, reliance on God, and courage. It wasn’t immediate, but it was well motivated and I felt God propelling me. God, of course, is well above party politics. The issue is much larger than that. He cares about my growth and sometimes He has to goose me into it.

It is the message found in these familiar lyrics: “. . . Fresh courage take. Our God will never us forsake.” Onward, sisters. The first step is to lay down fear and move forward in faith knowing that God will guide us.