Just recently, I watched the entire Restoring Honor Rally for the first time. Amidst all the prayers and pledges, one image that placed an imprint on the American spirit within me was one of Sarah Palin. Towards the end of the rally, bag pipes were summoned to proclaim the ultimate sound of freedom echoing its way throughout the Mall and across the Reflection Pool. The camera focused on the former vice presidential candidate for a few seconds revealing some tears glistening down her cheeks- revealing a woman who was deeply moved by Amazing Grace.
As she recounted in her best-selling book, Going Rogue, Sarah Palin had an all-American religious upbringing. Her mother was involved in local churches and charities while Sarah and her siblings went to youth group and Sunday school. Palin recalls her own salvation experience while at a youth retreat, when she looked out at the beauty of nature that was God’s creation and decided to put her faith in the Creator. She was baptized at that youth retreat and from there would embark on a journey of putting this faith into action.
Fast-forward to the year 2011, when Americans and the world are holding their breath to see if Sarah Palin is going to follow her faith into the presidential primaries. After two and half years of constant attacks, there are many questions as to how long Palin’s faith can hold under the pressure of the media and its criticisms of her. The mainstream media seems to be fascinated by her ability to deflect their flaming arrows and, at the same time, they all seem to want to be the first to penetrate her armor. What those in the media fail to realize is the fact that Sarah Palin’s faith is the shield that allows her to keep on standing.
Had her only defense been her family, her house, her money or her reputation, Sarah Palin probably would have been knocked down a long time ago. Yet, much to the liberal media’s chagrin, Palin flashes a cheery smile in the face of adversity and criticism. The only time you will hear a quiver in her voice is not when she is second-guessed but when she reflects upon her faith, our troops, and her son, Trig. Palin’s faith causes her to look beyond herself and that is the shield that has remained impenetrable.
The Amazing Grace that Sarah Palin puts her faith in is the same Grace that brought Trig into a world that didn’t want him. It is in the face of an unwelcoming world that Palin holds her child and, in turn, holds her faith. The unbelieving world can take everything that is seen away from her, but they won’t ever succeed in taking what is unseen. They may take away her reputation but they will never be able to take away her identity. And her identity is found in her faith in Amazing Grace. This faith is what has kept her standing in the face of opposition. This faith is what moved the happy warrior on that August day, and it is what will keep her going should she decide to embark on the hardest journey of her life.
