Opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author.

The other night as we slept in our beds, a storm came through. The wind howled. The rain poured. The elements raged, and when we awoke, the house was dark, the power out.

As we worked together in the summer heat, picking up downed branches, limbs, and walnuts, we discussed our afternoon plans. We were preparing to take our youngest son (aka The Cub) to Hillsdale College where he would join other high-school kids for a study trip. We had spent many happy hours on the Hillsdale campus when Cub’s big brother was there. Now, his brother was gone, having graduated in 2023.

“He should be there,” my husband opined. “It doesn’t feel right.” I smiled, knowing his sentimental heart; knowing, too, that our graduate was following his dreams, using that degree to great effect.

“He is where he is because he was where he was.” That’s what I found myself saying, and instantly I knew there was a greater lesson.

Our son is doing what he’s doing because of the hard work he did for six years before graduating and entering the work force. Every piece of it prepared him for this moment. The good, the bad, the easy, the hard. All of it was training and preparation.

What’s true for him is true for us, both personally and nationally. We are where we are because we were where we were.

Personally, I know the truth of this in my own life. I am who I am because I was where I was. Where I was raised, my family of origin, the religious culture into which I was born, the man I married, the life experiences I had, the trials and tests I endured—all of it has made me the woman I am today. And all along the way, I’ve made choices.

Nationally, this is also true. We are where we are because of where we have been. Choices and shifts along the way have brought us to this point in time. We outlawed prayer in schools. We legalized abortion. In so many ways, we gave God the middle finger, banning Him from the public square. Now, mere days ago, a presidential candidate has providentially survived an assassination attempt.

“We are horrified, but not surprised.” That’s how I answered friends who checked in. Horrified, but not surprised that evil has finally reached a crescendo.

In recent years, I have felt the increasing intensity of the battle between good and evil (and here, I am not talking about two presidential candidates). I mean true Good and real evil. Perhaps you have felt it, too. Today, many Americans are afraid to so much as voice what candidates they support. They are frightened to speak boldly of their faith. Such fear is not from God.

The evil that wields fear like a cudgel is pitting us against each other. If we can raise our eyes from individual issues to the tenor and tone of our words, thoughts, and underlying emotions, we can see the greater picture. The ‘ugly’ that we feel is talking to us, and it’s important to tune in to what it’s saying. To the entity behind it, for there surely is one hiding there.

We are demoralized, divided, and discouraged. Yet, when I look at my own life and I look at our son, I know that we do not have to stay here. We are not meant, in fact, to stay here. Just because it’s where we are now does not mean that we can’t change course. What we do here will determine where we will be down the road and the kind of country we will leave for our sons and daughters.

To heal our land, we must choose a different course, and the guiderails on that path are two—faith and love. It is time to return to faith in God. We cannot beg for his blessing when we have told him to leave.

It is time to lay aside fear. It’s time for boldness tempered with genuine love; love for God, for each other, and love for this country in which we’ve been placed.

A friend said something recently in a sermon that I’ve been pondering. He said this: “Fear cannot cross the border of perfect Love.”

The truth is that I can disagree with you strongly and still love you. I can work to oppose bad ideas and still truly care about those who hold them. As a child of God, it’s my duty and my privilege. It’s the only way I can look like him in this world.

To President Trump. Please know that we pray for you. The iconic photo of you, triumphant and defiant, is a huge inspiration to us all, especially to The Cub who’s the age of your own son.

To my fellow Americans and those who love her around the world. May we have the wisdom to see rightly, the mercy to live justly, and the boldness to do what we ought. May we place our faith in Almighty God alone, not trusting in our own devices. May evil’s crescendo lead to its defeat, and may we be kept in that perfect Love that delivers us from all of our fears.