Dear Conservatives,

I am sad, scared, overwhelmed, & anxious.

But when people didn't hear from me yesterday, they checked in. I received love letters all day from folks who know my heart, how I would feel about the election's impact on people I care deeply about, and wanted to provide empathy and ask questions.

Not one of those was a Trump supporter.

Here's the hard-to-say truth about what I've experienced for the last decade of politics: While I have made it a mission to initiate conversations with my conservative friends & family to understand their perspective, asking about their faith and experiences that led them to land on their perspective, I have never experienced that in return.

Before the last election, I organized a community conversation with churches to provide a space for both political parties to have respectful dialogue. Not one conservative person (or church) responded.

My church denomination has a motto that guides me - "God is still speaking...Never place a period where God has placed a comma,"

This has influenced my determined curiosity about how others feel and why. It has allowed me to understand that I do not have all of the answers or the "right" perspective. I eagerly and earnestly want to learn about differing religious and political views, without any need to influence those or "save" someone who believes differently than me.

If you are celebrating your political victory, perhaps you could ask yourself - Who do love I that might be hurting? Do I love anyone in the "other" political party enough to practice curiosity?

Questions, posed with a genuine desire for connecting (and NOT correcting), can deepen and preserve relationships.

-Tell me more about how you came to that conclusion.

-How did your parents/childhood/experiences/faith influence the way you feel about this topic?

-What are you worried about?

-What are you hopeful about?

-I'd love to understand your perspective on that...

For my conservative friends & family, please know that I have spent 8 years worrying and wrestling daily with how to preserve our relationships. I promise to continue this and hope that I will be met with loving curiosity in return.