My Path into Politics: A Detailed Account of Destiny at Work

I haven’t posted much in the last few months. One reason is that I’m dealing with the results of a huge manifestation that was in the works for quite a few years.

I kept asking God to send me a new mission/challenge, and a way to make a real difference in people’s lives. I didn’t specify it because I knew I wouldn’t pick the right thing for myself if I had to choose.

​I thought I’d be writing books (and I probably still will) or be a counselor. Instead, through a series of blessings in disguise, I was led into politics… the last thing I ever would have thought I’d go into. 

Some of those blessings in disguise along the way looked an awful lot like curses. Living in a state with a Democrat super-majority, after 2016 I turned from Bernie fan to Trump supporter… and lost 99% of my friends in the process.

At some point, I hated visiting Facebook because I’d be yelled at all day long for my opinions. I got kicked out of local social groups, and most of my interactions consisted of arguments. I became extremely defensive and belligerent to protect myself from the onslaught. 

At the same time, I felt compelled to get trained in public speaking, get my teeth fixed, and take on a board position in a non-profit organization… as if in preparation for a job in the limelight. But I had no idea what this job could be.

I thought I did, but I was wrong.

Then the shift happened: I stumbled over the Facebook #WalkAway group, a movement started by gay hairdresser Brandon Straka who after years of fearing and loathing Trump realized that he’d been duped all along and walked away from the Democrat party.

I looked at the stories of people and saw that they went through the same or worse as I had. Some of them were being ostracized by their closest family members for their beliefs and had no one left. I posted my story and received a ton of love, welcoming and kind comments from the group. I friended everyone who replied to my post… over 100 people. 

All of a sudden, I had Facebook friends again!

And even better, they were like-minded spirits who would even jump in and defend me from the constant attacks of the remainder of my liberal “friends” that still hung around. One of my new Facebook friends, a radio show host from Virginia, invited me on his show. Gulp. I was scared to death, but I remembered my own teachings (“Recognize and grab new opportunities”) and said yes. 

I started to look for conservatives in my local area, but they were in hiding, too afraid to identify themselves as such for fear of retribution.

Finally, I came across a post on our local message forum for a meeting of the Republican Town Committee. I hesitated to attend; after all, I wanted nothing to do with politics. But I was desperate enough to meet kindred people that I went. 

It was pretty boring, and I was shocked to see that the entire committee consisted of seven people. I kept in touch, but didn’t attend very often over the next year… until at one meeting where I was present, they said they needed another committee member to keep the committee running.

So I said fine, but didn’t expect to do much. Then they talked about the county committee; there was also an opening—would I be willing? So I said OK to that too. 

I attended the next county committee meeting, which began with a breakfast at a local restaurant. The only available spot was at the table next to a very eloquent man, John Klar, whom I had a great conversation with. We were totally on the same wavelength when it came to policies, and he was a really nice guy. 

When we moved over to the conference room, I realized he was the keynote speaker for the day. I got his email and phone number, but then pretty much forgot about him for the next few months. 

2020 came around, and the town committee chair asked around via email who’d volunteer to be a delegate. I was skeptical (I didn’t want to commit to too great a task), but then learned that all I would have to do was pick and choose people who'd travel to the RNC Convention in the summer. Not too bad, so I did that.

Then I attended the fateful Zoom meeting of the county committee, where—outspoken and opinionated as I am—I countered the speech of the RNC committee chair for Vermont and told the committee flat out that I thought they were doing it all wrong. 

The next day, I received a phone call from Ken H., chair of the county committee, tapping me to run for the office of State Representative for the Lamoille-Washington district. He said we had a two-seat district, but so far only one person was running and he thought I “might be electable.” 

I instantly turned him down. Scary thought--me, running for office? I couldn’t possibly.

Or could I? 

After the phone call with Ken, I had a sleepless night. Had I done the right thing?

I realized that I was saying no to a new opportunity and challenge, something that could turn into a new mission and a change to make a difference in people’s lives… all out of fear of the unknown. 

So the next morning, I called Ken and said, “I’ll do it.”

I jumped with both feet into the preparations. I started reading up on local issues and Vermont politics. I tried to figure out how to get on the ballot. I called a dozen people to find out as much about the election process as possible. I started looking into campaign finance and campaign materials.

After about a week, Ken emailed me saying he’d talked to some other folks on the committee and they thought maybe I didn’t have enough experience yet, maybe I needed to be groomed for a few more years before running, maybe I should let someone else have the spot. 

God couldn’t have plotted this better. Everyone who knows me knows that I have a built-in stubbornness dial. If I’m in doubt about being able to do something, all you need to do is tell me that you think I can’t do it—and my immediate reaction is, “Watch me!”

So that’s what happened. I flat-out refused to withdraw. Miraculously, I had just the night before handed my candidate form into the town clerk’s office, and I’d be damned if I was backing out now. I must also admit that in the privacy of my home office, I had all kinds of choice words for Ken and his “underhanded” behavior.

So I went into overdrive and worked harder than ever. One woman from my town committee told me that John Klar, my buddy from the county meeting, was running for governor and was looking to align with other candidates to form a more united front. I emailed back and forth with John a few times and agreed to become part of his support group. 

I started to get invited to Republican gatherings, State House events, and meet & greets, and got to know loads of like-minded people. I got invited on my Virginian Facebook friend's radio show four times so far. At the end of this month, I might enter the first-ever political debate of my life.

At one point, the county chairs had an informal in-person meeting with the candidates in a park (to enable social distancing), and Ken told me he had only been testing how serious I was about my candidacy. He invited me to visit his church the next Sunday.

I hadn’t been able to attend my own church because I couldn’t bear wearing a mask for over an hour in heat and humidity, but I missed going. Several years earlier, I had converted to Catholicism because it was the closest I could get to what I wanted from church. 

My secret dream had been to attend an evangelical church service, but I hadn’t been able to find this type of church in Vermont in all the years I’d lived here, so I assumed they didn’t exist. I figured I might score some brownie points with Ken and attend his church service just once. When I got there, I noticed two things: A. People came in and talked with masks on, but then took them off as they got seated. B. It was an evangelical church! 

I loved it from first sight. The service was so much more interactive and lively and joyful than any other church service or Mass I’d ever attended. Exactly my cup of tea. Needless to say, I’ve been attending Ken’s church for two months now, and I learned there are several others like this in the area. It’s amazing, because I was actively looking for evangelical churches years ago and couldn’t find any at all. It’s like they popped up like mushrooms after a rain.

Things are still evolving at a breakneck speed. This tale is not finished yet. Will I get elected? I don’t know. I leave it up to God what he wants me to do. If he thinks I should be in the Vermont State House, that’s what will happen. If not, then I’m sure all this networking I’ve done and all the experience and knowledge I’ve gathered will be good for something. It might lead to another step and another… and God knows (literally!) where I’ll end up. 

All I know is that this is precisely where I need to be at this particular moment. I have no clue where I’ll be tomorrow or next week or next month. The manifestation wheels have been set in motion, and my role is now to go with the flow and roll with whatever is presented to me. Jesus has taken the wheel, and all I have to do right now is not obstruct him from handling things. 

I’m super excited about all that’s going right now. I’ve had situations like these several times in my life—like when I was getting ready to move to the US.

If this happens to you sometime, know this: Somehow, you can feel when destiny is at work in your life.

It feels different than your ordinary day-to-day that you’re used to. It’s like there’s electricity in the air… like a low power hum that permeates everything… things are in motion, and all you need to do is stay out of the way to keep that motion going. Signs and synchronicity abound. Small miracles and happy “coincidences” will find you every day. 

Say YES to everything. Only say no if you have a queasy feeling in your gut, or a persistent little voice that tells you not to do this—but don’t mistake your own trepidation and fear of change for actual danger.

Talk to God every day; ask him to guide you and tell you unmistakingly what to do. Ask for signs, and you will get them. Ask for protection, and you will get it. Ask for the courage to say yes and embrace transformation, and you will get it.

Most important: Remember “Thy Will Be Done.”

Preserve your humility and try to avoid the ego traps that will make you fall for the Dark Side’s schemes. Don't manifest frivolous crap. Ask to fulfill your calling. Ask to be of service. Ask to be shown manifestation goals and dreams that will truly make you happy.

Stay on God’s side, and he’ll stay on yours. 

This was years in the making, but since it started, it's been a nonstop rollercoaster ride. It probably could have happened sooner, but I was stalling. I tried to hang on to friends that I had nothing in common with anymore... and circumstances that didn't fit me anymore.

When I finally let go, things happened fast. Within a few months, I found new friends, I found a new church, and I found a new purpose.

As I said, this tale isn’t finished yet. I don’t know where I’ll end up. But I know what’s happening is what God wants for me, and it’s all good. I’ll keep you in the loop.