I think "a new dawn of American leaership is at hand," is the quote in President Elect Obama's victory speech that will become famous, but not because of any political reason. It's because of something else. I didn't even vote for him and yet while he spoke, I saw it in the crowd and felt it in me, that unique deep feeling that often surprises us when we least expect it. In English, we call it hope.

Just thinking about the dawning of anything sort of stirs up hope, doesn't it? One commentator in Europe said he believes this election is the dawning of new relationships between America and Europe. I don't have any reason to believe he can speak for all of Europe or the world but he implied that if we had elected the Republican candidate that I voted for, there would be less of that feeling we call hope in the world right now.

This is the dawning of much more than a new president's term in the white house. I have a feeling this historic American election saw more voters at the polls than ever before and probably received more attention from the entire world than ever before.

While Barack Obama gave his victory speech, there were over 100,000 people in Chicago's Grant Park to hear it. And these people were not in the "ha, ha! we won!" spirit of celebration. The faces I saw were smiling through tears and seemed to have hope and light in their eyes behind the tears.

And my face while I listened to our new president speak was not the typical sad "we lost" kind of face. I was smiling through tears too feeling a sense of hope. He is always such an inspiring speaker.

When he said "a new dawn of American leadership is at hand," he sounded humble, not proud. He is so good at that. Like the dawn, he can deliver a speech that seems to shed light into the dark. They say the darkest hour is just before dawn. Even though we have a lot of dark times ahead, the way he delivered this speech brings hope like the morning.

Our new president will need so much support through these next days. It's staggering to think about what he now has ahead of him. I plan to pray for President Elect Obama a lot, for his protection, for wisdom, for strength and honor and for us as a nation.

The world is watching to see if we are going to stay divided, red and blue, or can we become united like our name. That's one of the challenges our new president gave us - he said to remember that "we have never been a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

As a nation, we must be careful not to place the hope of the world in the wrong person. That would be the worst thing we could do to our new president. In God we trust. That's why we became a nation in the first place.

Pray for our new leader but place your hope and trust in God if you want to be like a tree planted by the water and not like a bush in the wastelands.

To see prosperity when it comes with green leaves, be sure your confidence is in God. To have no worries in a year or so of drought, trust the right Person.

Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NIV)

5 This is what the LORD says:

"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

who depends on flesh for his strength

and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;

he will not see prosperity when it comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

in a salt land where no one lives.

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit."