It’s almost over. Here are five things

to do before the polls close:

1. Educate yourself. Read. Listen. Ask questions. Dig. The voting booth is a sorry place for ignorance.
2. Actually vote. Social media carpet-bombing is easy. Waiting in a long line is hard. Be inconvenienced. Electoral participation is the currency of legitimate celebration and complaint. End of story.
3. Keep things in perspective. In four years we’ll do the big one all over again. And next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, men and women and issues, local and broad, are going to scream for attention. Become a student of history. They did this kind of thing before we arrived on the scene. Find out what happened. It might surprise you how old some new stuff is.
4. Win with humility. If your candidate(s) comes out on top, remember they’ve won the opportunity to cross the starting line. Act like you understand this.
5. Lose with grace. If your candidate(s) falls short, let your reaction reveal a security anchored in something far greater than electoral success. Act like you believe this.

(Bonus) And if you pray, ask God to help. He’s not a Democrat, Republican, Independent, None-of-the-Above or American. He’s got his own platform. And the day after this circus ends, it’s gonna be a pretty normal day for him. One where he’s above it all, still captivated by faith, and coming alongside anyone whose world is big enough to explore what he thinks about things.