The other night in our New Wineskins Zoom gathering, we were having a conversation around hope.

Hope can be a hard commodity to come by sometimes, and in the midst of a global pandemic and a highly contentious election season, it can seem particularly elusive.

Acknowledging that, one of the people attending made a remark that is still echoing with me 36 hours later.

Elections, this person said, are moments.

There’s a huge buildup, then there’s the day the votes are counted.

And that’s it. You go on from there, steered by the outcome, until the next election.

But on the other hand, there are movements.

Movements may be birthed in a moment, but are not dependent on them.

Movements are not yoked to four-year cycles.

Movements transcend moments.

And the very astute question that came out of that comment was this:

Are we living in a moment? Or in a movement?

I won’t be so trite as to say that, despite the outcomes of today’s U.S. election, the sun will still come up tomorrow and life will go on.

For many, “life goes on” might mean that misery goes on.

For those who are victimized by the seemingly bottomless pursuit of wealth and status and power, the sun may rise on deeper anxieties and insecurities.

Which is why, although moments like elections are indeed important and do have impacts, it’s more important still that we participate in a movement.

A movement of respect, dignity, and compassion.

A movement of decency.

A movement of love.

It’s the only thing that always wins.

Every moment.