PAGE 103
On p. 103 of GR, Sarah continues her discussion of the soul-searching time that followed her resignation as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She writes:
"I would pick Piper up from her bed, snuggle her in a worn flannel quilt, and rock with her in the stillness of the night. The gas fireplace would kick on when the temperature dropped to just the right degree, and I could feel the flickers of light and heat near my feet. There was a longing inside me that winter, a sense of purpose hovering just beyond my vision. Was it ambition? I didn't think so. Ambition drives; purpose beckons. Purpose calls (italics in the original).
"I definitely wasn't driven (italics in the original) toward any particular goal, like power or fame or wealth. So what was it? I wondered, as Piper's sweet breath against my neck matched the rocker's rhythmic glide. I prayed again that if I was to resign myself to what felt like a public service career cut short, that I'd embrace being home full-time. I asked that the fire in my belly, and whatever was feeding it, would simmer down.
"I thought of a passage from the book of Jeremiah 29:11-13: ' "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. When you call upon Me I will hear you, when you search for Me you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart." '
"It irked me that too often women are made to feel guilty for seeking the next open door, no matter what career choices we make. That seems universal. But one doesn't just create (italics in original) passion, nor consciously generate the feeling that there's a door standing open somewhere, even if you can't see it yet. And it wasn't anyone who pressured me: 'Sarah, you've got to get out there and fly! Go do more!' But I knew there was something more."
Just like the passage that was cited from page 102, this page too is clothed with lyric, poetical power, especially the words about Piper!!
I think, however, that what stands out and shines forth even more radiantly than the beauty of the Governor's words is the evidence for the true SERVANT'S HEART that she possesses!
The center and soul of this passage, IMV, is the conjunction and juxtaposition of Sarah's serving as a mom to little Piper while she awaits the Lord's counsel and dispositions, as this is expressed in the citation from the Prophet Jeremiah. Sarah was then, and is today, humbly praying to the Lord for light, and is attentively awaiting His answer, while she goes about her ordinary duties, and fulfills her responsibilities.
Are there any other such figures in the public life of the nation today?
Few if any others, IMHO.
Let us reflect for a few moments on how lofty and mighty and rare and precious is the heart that seeks, not its own vainglorious exaltation, but rather the good of others; the good of one's people; the will and dispositions of the All-Highest!!
The sword and steel of great power can only be wielded by those valiant hands and hearts that have passed through the fiery test of the willingness to decline and refuse power!!
For those of you who love J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," think upon one of the many tests that Aragorn had to pass before he was finally made worthy to hold the mighty power and sit on the ancient throne of the Kings of Gondor!!
He had to overcome, among many other trials, the temptation of seizing the Ring of Power when he might have done so.
He also had to WAIT, in PATIENCE and in HOPE, through long and lonely years for his appointed time.
If a vessel is not formed and shaped and wrought and strengthened by long years of watching and vigilance and suffering and sacrifice, it will not be a vessel fit and capable of holding the heady "wine" of supreme power.
Great power tends to corrupt all but the greatest of souls and spirits.
To move from the mighty realm of Tolkien's fantasy, a fantasy that contains so much of ETERNAL TRUTH AND BEAUTY AND REALITY, to our own nation's history, behold our George Washington, the RELUCTANT PRESIDENT!!
And now let us return to our Sarah.
I was ardently hoping and praying for SARAH 2012. I am still not giving up on the possibility of a miraculous intervention at the Tampa convention!!!
However, it is just possible that the Lord, who knows all the deepest places of our minds and souls and spirits, has said "NOT YET" to Sarah's Presidency.
I believe that RIGHT NOW the Governor would be one of the greatest Chief Executives that the country has ever seen.
However, perhaps Eternal Wisdom has decreed that Sarah must undergo further fires and trials, further waiting, so that she may become, not one of the greatest, but THE GREATEST President in our history!
And it is not the Governor's own soul alone that is in question here.
Maybe America herself will be more ready a few years down the road to receive the maximum benefit and fruit from a Palin Presidency. Perhaps the Governor will have a truly CONSERVATIVE Congress to help her in her work of restoration by the time she arrives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I think that the Divine Spirit is working on the hearts of millions of Americans, like soil being prepared for its seed. (And note how the Governor speaks about a sense of purpose HOVERING just beyond her vision. The word "hovering" is most suggestive and significant!).
The seed shall be sown and the fruit come forth at the right and true hour, and not before.
Therefore, we can follow no finer, loftier, more royal road than the one traced out for us by Sarah in this beautiful passage.
As she went about her daily duties, including being a mom to young Piper, she prayed and prayed and prayed, saying to the Lord, in effect, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."
First mother to Piper and to her other kids; next mother to the State of Alaska; last, as we ardently hope and pray, MOTHER OF HER COUNTRY and indeed of FREE PEOPLES everywhere!!!
Let us follow her on this sometimes irksome, sometimes thorny, sometimes wearisome, sometimes painful, but ultimately glorious path.
MAY THE LORD'S WILL BE DONE, IN SARAH'S LIFE, IN OUR LIVES, IN AMERICA'S LIFE!!!
