Young Democrats of Atlanta
When I was a little girl, my family went to church every Sunday. My mother made sure of that. Without fail, the four of us would wake up early, fill up on a waffle breakfast, and attend the First Presbyterian Church of Anderson, SC, where we sat in the first balcony. I loved that ritual, and it continued as I got older except for the waffle breakfast. The older I got the more I enjoyed sleeping in until, eventually, I didn't mind sacrificing even waffles.

In the last six months or so, I haven't been to church. In fact, I can't remember the last time I sat down in a pew and prayed. I've spent much of this past year on the campaign trail, so to speak. During the primary season, my Sundays were spent down in House District 65 with TJ Copeland and since my Sundays have been occupied with the Melanie Eyre campaign in House District 46. Every Sunday, I tell myself I'm going to return to church when the election season is over. I have a lot of ground to make up with God, and I feel guilty. Rather, I did feel guilty.

About a month ago, on a Sunday, I was running late to an event, and I felt guilty about that too. And then a friend told me, "It's okay that you're late. You were busy doing God's work." I thought about that comment for the rest of the evening, and I realized that my friend was right. By campaigning for a great Democratic candidate, I was doing God's work! We all are!

What is God's work? The way I understand it, it includes: helping the poor; fighting for equality; protecting the environment, the world God created; and protecting families and family values. The Democratic Party is the party of these values. So, you see, I no longer feel guilty for spending my Sundays campaigning for good Democrats. In doing so, I'm improving our community, our state, our nation, and our world. When I give up a Sunday morning of church to work for the good of the Democratic Party, everyone wins, including the values that God taught us.