A Man for Such a Time as This

Exactly how did I get caught up in this election?  Exactly how did we come to an agreement as a couple and a family to support Curtis Bostic for Congress?  Why have we poured time, energy and resources into this campaign?  Why are we making phone calls, sending emails, posting information, passing out flyers, holding banners, feeding volunteers, working behind the scenes, and more?  Well, it was a little less scientific and a little more God-driven.  This is God's man for this moment in time for this job.  Simple.  But how do *I* know that, and why should *you* vote for him, if you live in the First Congressional District in South Carolina?
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Wouldn't it be great if God would give us little slips of paper with all the answers on them?  I mean, it would make decisions in this life so much easier.  If someone would just tell us what to do, where to go, what the will of the Lord was, and if we could just trust that advice, then it would save so much of our time and energy.  We wouldn't have to work and struggle quite so hard.  While there have been many decisions we (our family) has made during the last (almost) 20 years which we have struggled over, prayed over, sought guidance over, and while we have made some mistakes and wrong decisions (which incidentally I knew at the time but felt like I was on a water slide going down too fast to stop), most decisions and choices have been rather, well, benign.  Surrounding ourselves with good guidance, praying often, and keeping our eyes and ears open leads to rather, more of an ease to decisions.  The wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth isn't what I believe the Lord is asking of us.

In December, I had the awesome opportunity to help a friend of mine achieve something.  This man is a dear brother in the Lord (soon you will read the blog post I've already written about him and his family).  As we both knew, the task we were vying for was far-fetched at the least and if it had come to fruition, no one would have been more surprised than us, even though we know we serve a BIG GOD who can do His will however He wants.  What we did know was that this would lead to something else, neither of us knew exactly what, but something... something that would build on the foundation that we had begun with acknowledging the gifts my friend has for the public at large to soon know.  And it all led to where we are today, right now, at this moment, 48 hours from election day.

Just after Christmas, my friend and his family came over for an old-fashioned supper and fellowship.  Over cube steak and potatoes, green beans, fruit, and homemade rolls, it was all politics. Who was going to run for the 1st district congressional seat held by then Congressman Timothy Scott who was resigning in a few days to go to the US Senate?  Would my friend run?  We worked on that awhile... or would *his* friend run?  I knew of this friend of his but only slightly.  We met once, a long time ago at some homeschool function which even I cannot remember, which is very strange for me.  I had met with and talked with his wife other times, met some of their children, knew they were an incredible homeschooling family, basically knew they were an amazing family.  Almost a "too good to be true" kind of a family.  My best friend knew them well, and yes, they were exactly as they seemed, the "real deal", nothing fake here, but true Christian character lived out daily in their lives and in every situation.  The more that he began to share, the more I realized the Lord was speaking directly to me in my dining room; it couldn't have been more clear.  The clincher was this: (as if I wasn't listening...and I really was!).  My friend finished with, "If I want to run for this seat, Curtis won't run, he'll take his name out, and drop back and be the first person to write a check and support me for this endeavor. That's the kind of friendship and accountability we have."  Now, it might seem a little shallow to know who you're going to support in December before the Congressman has resigned, before you even know who for sure is running, before you even know if your friend is even running, but God speaks through people, He uses the here and now and we have to be ready because He may just give us the answer when we are least expecting it or least want it.  Yes, He speaks through pastors or teachers of the Word, or through prayer, but every single believer is used by God to influence others and sometimes He uses unbelievers!
Of course I did pray about it.  I did put forth Gideon's fleece and boy did God deliver.  So here's what you should know and why you should support Curtis Bostic for Congress:

Everywhere I go, every door I knock on, every phone call we make, we hear the same plea, the same question asking for help.  "But so many of them are the same!  How do I know which one of those 4 (some say 5) to vote for?"  If you want to vote for a Christian, conservative, Constitutional candidate, then yes, you're in trouble because there are about 5 of them out of the 16 Republicans running for this seat, not to mention that they're pro-life, pro-gun, pro-homeschooling, and pro-limited government.  That's when people check out, they go back to their pressing life and decide to wait it out and see which two will be in the run-off, a much easier decision.  But Curtis isn't just your typical candidate in that bracket and we have a responsibility to work hard and find the answer and we have a God-given responsibility to be involved and figure it out.

This man has everything to lose by running,...by winning.  He will have to give up his law practice helping people, his life's work, his joy of a job; he cannot even have his name on the building should he win.  He will have to give up his ministry, "Remember", giving aid and helping children in 3rd world countries, another love of his. This mission-minded soul had to choose between his current mission and an equally great mission, helping people in this country.  No other politician has so much to lose while having something to gain.  Others are seeking to move up the political ladder, further their careers, ignore term limits they had previously set, and seek only political gain.
Curtis is the one candidate who has a command understanding of the Rule of Law, the US Constitution, and I'm not talking about a ship.  Others know parts, carry the booklet around, kick the can down the road in forums fairly well, but Curtis can take any situation you give him and using his Constitutional lens, give you the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It may not be exactly what you want to hear, it may not be the most politically savvy answer, it may cost you something you have to give up, but it will be the right, sound doctrine because it will be based on a system of law set in place by a group of men God poured out wisdom on 224 years ago.  I've watched it in action.  I've heard the stories about Curtis, who so desires that we put our trust in this system, that he's willing to forgo the good answer for the best answer.  No other candidate has done this.
Curtis is the most ethical man I know.  He has committed to run an campaign of high standards, he won't allow or use any false, misleading or negative advertising.  He wouldn't even put his signs in Charleston County right of ways as all the others had done because it was against an ordinance which the county made sure every candidate was aware of.  Recently, the county rescinded this but his exact words to me before this were, "I want to be a law-maker, not a law-breaker."  If you did see his signs, it's because we asked businesses' permission.  And yes, we're putting up signs like crazy now.
When approached with a problematic situation, instead of resorting to a negative campaign, or even a press release, Curtis's words are, "I will run on my record, let the chips fall where they may."  Everything he does, he prays over.  He knows that God will direct this election and he's letting God and the Word of the Lord direct his part in it.
Recently having been made a target by one of those others who seem so like him, so like a lot of the others, but yet, unlike Curtis, he chose to handle it in the biblical manner, Matthew 18.  Very few know which other candidate is allowing negativity, attacks, and other unbiblical nonsense to be spread to hurt Curtis because the Lord has blessed this campaign and Curtis is a serious threat to this other man's viability because of their seemingly "sameness" on the surface.
Viability. What makes a man viable?  God does. But money talks in politics and if Curtis does well, it will be because he managed extremely well the resources he has been given by the Almighty and others, it will not be because he spent the most, in fact, he may be one of the smaller spenders.

Curtis' silence and willingness to listen to voters speaks volumes (pun intended).  He is not loud or self-serving when he talks and he is more willing to hear than jump in with immediate solutions and answers. He has a lot of the answers, he's willing to work hard to figure out the rest, and he understands our government and our problems facing SC and the nation but he also understands the value of conversation and that if elected, he represents the people, not the establishment or his own personal interests.
He served on Charleston County Council for 8 years with Tim Scott; many achievements were made during that time, including keeping my taxes down.  Tim has been a friend of his for a long time and has been encouraging during this process.  If you are still trying to decide, still trying to find that one distinctive man, I humbly pray that the Lord will work through my words and you will choose today to support the man, God's man, for the next Congressman from SC.
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While I do not know the future, and only God knows what Tuesday night will bring, I do know He has something further in store for Curtis Bostic, whether it be a seat in Congress or another job entirely.  Curtis has dedicated his life to serving the Lord; he's the different but better candidate for the 1st district and that's good enough for me, Will you please join me?  We need a "few good men" and women, as the former Marine, Curtis Bostic, might say, to come alongside of us and vote on Tuesday and encourage others to exercise their right and responsibility to choose the best man for the job.