Grace Made the Difference

Last night, after election day, I went to bed just 56 votes ahead, with results reported from 31 of 42 precincts. Yes, it was close. But I am so excited. Even more so, I was in awe. Before I went to sleep, I sent my team a text with a screenshot of the results. Then, as I laid my head down, two words rested in my spirit: God’s grace.

The incumbent was far ahead of the other three candidates, but I did not need to finish first to be a winner. I simply needed to finish in the top two to advance to the general election. Now, let me be clear, I am not a participation trophy kind of girl. But in this case, second place is winning. A win is a win.

When I woke up this morning, the gap between me and the third-place candidate had widened to 158 votes, with 40 of 42 precincts reporting. The journey is continuing.

One thought fills my heart: God did it.

Faith is interesting in that way. We can pray. We can believe. We can confess that God is able. We can step forward trusting that God has called us. Yet, when God answers, we can still find yourself standing in awe.

It reminded me of the believers in Acts 12 who gathered to pray for Peter while he was in prison. God answered their prayers and released Peter, but when he arrived at the door, they were surprised it was really him. They had enough faith to pray for a miracle, yet the miracle still surprised them. That's how I felt.

I believed God. I trusted the call. I knew that entering this race was an act of obedience. Still, when the results came in, I was overwhelmed by the reality of what God had done.

I am deeply grateful to every person who encouraged me, prayed for me, shared my name, offered advice, checked on me, stood with me, or simply believed that my experience and voice belonged in this process. Some supported publicly. Others prayed quietly. I do not take any of it for granted.

But when I honestly reflect on this journey, I know that the outcome cannot be explained by strategy alone. I entered the race later than others. While early voting was taking place, I was also closing out the school year. Working 12 hour days leading a school, organizing programs, signing awards, supporting staff, serving families, and remaining focused on the children entrusted to my care. I did not have the largest team stationed at the polls. I did not have oversized signs or signs covered with professional photographs. Instead, I simply had yard signs bearing my name.

There were visible gaps in time, resources, organization, and reach. And yet, there was grace. Not cheap grace, the kind of grace theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned against, which asks nothing of us and costs us nothing. Obedience required something from me. It required faith. It required work. It required vulnerability. It required me to step into unfamiliar territory without knowing exactly how everything would come together.

It was not grace that excused preparation. Instead it was grace that met me after I had prepared as faithfully as I could. It was grace that filled the space between what I was able to do and what the assignment required. It was grace that made up the difference.

That lesson reaches far beyond an election.

As an educational leader, I have spent years working in spaces where the needs are greater than the available resources. Our children come to school carrying dreams, brilliance, trauma, questions, gifts, and sometimes burdens they should never have had to bear. Educators are asked to meet increasingly complex needs while navigating limited time, competing demands, and systems that do not always move as quickly as our children need them to move.

Leadership often means standing in that gap. It means doing everything within our power while recognizing that we cannot control every outcome. It means preparing carefully, acting faithfully, and refusing to allow limitations to become excuses. It means showing up where it matters most, even when we do not have every resource, every answer, or every advantage.

This experience reminded me that purpose is not proven by ease. Sometimes purpose is confirmed by the grace that meets us while we are doing something difficult.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” That truth has taken on new meaning for me. My limitations did not disqualify me. The places where I lacked strength created room for God’s strength to become visible.

I am not a politician. I am an educator, a pastor, a mother, a leader, and a servant who believes that obedience matters. I stepped into this race because I believed God was calling me to do so. I did not know what the results would be, but I knew I had to answer the call.

And God showed me again that He sees what others may overlook. God knows the work that happens when no cameras are present. God knows the sacrifices, the prayers, the late nights, the uncertainty, the tears and the moments when we continue simply because obedience will not allow us to quit.

This morning I did not wake up feeling that I had arrived. I woke up humbled, excited, grateful, and fully aware that the journey was continuing.

There is much work ahead. There is more to learn, more listening to do, and more growth required of me. I move forward with assurance; not assurance in my own ability, but assurance that the same grace that carried me through the primary will remain with me to the general election.

The words of “Amazing Grace” ring in my spirit:

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

I will continue with humility. I will lead with clarity. I will serve with gratitude. I will walk in purpose. And above all, I will remain obedient to the call of God. Because when I look back over this journey, I know without question: Grace made the difference.