A year ago yesterday, Diane and I were walking on the beach here at Myrtle Beach. It was a cloudy morning, but the warm wind and the water lapping around our bare feet felt really good. We didn't talk much, just lost in our own thoughts. I thought about how tough this year has been in a lot of ways. The country has suffered things we could not imagine. The election is like the rotten icing on a bad cake. I started praying for all of us, for the country.

Then a strange thing happened. I saw this vision or daydream, like a video playing in my head. I saw an aerial view of a man laying on the side of a lonely dirt road somewhere. As the view got closer, I could see that this man had gray hair and a beard and was wearing red and white striped trousers, and had on a blue jacket. I recognized him. It was Uncle Sam. My view got closer and closer. His face was bruised and bloody. His clothes were torn and bloodied. His sunken eyes were full of pain. It was obvious that he had been attacked and left by the side of the road baking in the bright sun. Then a shadow went across him, the shadow of another man who leaned down, put one strong-looking arm under his shoulders and one under his knees. The man had scars on his wrists. He lifted Uncle Sam from the ground. My view moved away and I could see that the man had long dark hair, a beard, and was wearing a white robe. He cradled Uncle Sam in his arms, held him close, and said:

"I've got you!"

Isaiah 41

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 “All who rage against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
    will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
    and glory in the Holy One of Israel.