This is Allan Shivers.

If you’ve never heard of Mr. Shivers, don’t worry. It’s probably just proof you aren’t from Texas.

Now, you might be thinking, “Paige, I’m pretty sure you aren’t from Texas either. How did you come to know Allan Shivers?”

You are correct. I am not from Texas. I’m a Louisiana girl through and through.

My mother, however, is from Texas. She is the one who told me about Allan Shivers, just yesterday during our phone conversation. Until then, I’d never heard of him either.

As a born and bred Texan, my sweet mama knows all things Texas:

• important facts about the great and marvelous people of that grand state, like Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Allan Shivers and so forth

• the tiniest of details about exciting Texas historical events, such as the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto

• all the words to the Texas, Our Texas, which is the official state song of Texas (aka the Texas National Anthem).

Fun fact: One summer, my mother and my aunts, along with my grandmother, made me and all of my cousins learn the lyrics to the Texas state song. True story. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to sing those words as I stood at attention and saluted the Texas flag every morning at school. Therefore I didn’t retain the lyrics and can no longer prove I am half-Texan.

Enough digressing. Let’s get back to my mom and Allan Shivers.

Yesterday I called my mom.

Typically, I talk to my mom on the phone several times a week. She’s not nearly as chatty as my dad used to be, but I enjoy hearing her voice. Usually we talk about her dog Zayda’s antics or my kids’ college adventures, or what our pastors preached about on Sunday. (This actually takes quite a while because my mother tunes into about 3 or 4 preachers every Sunday morning.) And because we both love to read, every so often we discuss books.

Yesterday my mother told me about a book she is currently reading: Stories from Texas: Some of Them are True by W. F. Strong. My mom said, “It’s fascinating really … at least in some parts.”

Apparently, one of the stories in this book mentioned former Texas Governor Allan Shivers, which reminded my mother that once upon a time she actually met Gov. Shivers in person at a church service back when she was a relatively young girl. She recalled that he had some connections to her hometown of Woodville, TX, the main one being that the library there was the Allan Shivers Public Library but also something about his grandparents being buried in the big cemetery in Woodville as well.

Ever the curious person, my mom decided to poke around on the internet to see if she could discover more about this former prominent Texas politician. This is what she learned:

Allan Shivers served as the 37th Governor of Texas, a position he ascended to upon the death of Gov. Beauford Jester on July 11, 1949. (At that time, Shivers was serving as Texas Lt. Governor, and therefore was next in line as Governor.) Shivers went on to be elected Texas Governor three times in his own right in 1950, 1952 and 1954. He chose not to run as a candidate in 1956 gubernatorial race , and ended his last term on January 15, 1957.

Even though a four-term governorship is fairly impressive, it’s still pretty boring stuff if you aren’t into Texas history. I figured there must be more to this story, or otherwise it would not be worthy of my mother discussing it with me over the phone. As I said, she isn’t the most chatty person around.

I was right. That wasn’t all there was to this story.

You see, Allan Shivers was quite the popular governor. In fact, he was so well loved, that on the 1952 Texas gubernatorial ballot, both the Democrats and the Republicans named him as their nominee.

Yes, you read that correctly.

In the 1952 Texas governor’s race, voters went to the poll and found that they could vote for Democrat Allan Shivers or Republican Allan Shivers. They also had an option to vote No Preference.

My mother doesn’t usually tell tall tales. That award goes to my father. But I fact checked her anyway.

Here’s what I learned: Allan Shivers won the election.

You probably expected that. However, what you might not have expected is that the votes were actually counted. The Democrats even claimed victory, not that it really effected the outcome of the election.

While the Democratic Allan Shivers handily defeated the Republican Allan Shivers, when you totaled up all the votes cast for Governor Shivers in that election, he received a whopping 98.05 % of the votes. Just under 2% of the voters selected the No Preference option.

It doesn’t matter how you look at that 1952 Texas Governor’s race, I think it is safe to say that this is probably one of the few times in all of American history that Democrats and the Republicans agreed upon who would be the best man for the job.

It’s certainly not the case for the 2020 Presidential Election.

Can we possibly be any farther away from the 1952 Texas Gubernatorial Election?

I think not.

The Republicans have their candidate. The Democrats have theirs. Not to mention Third Party candidates and extra characters vying for their place in the election.

Everyone has an opinion. No one seems to agree. And I think if most of us were to be totally honest, we are just disappointed that these are the best candidates America has to offer us.

If you are like me, some aspects of this election leaves you with the shivers. (Pun intended!)

How then should we live out these next 3 weeks?

1. Pray

Prayer is where Christians should always start.

Begin by praying about who to cast your vote for (Not just for President but for all the offices you are voting for, and not just for this election but for every election.) Even if you think you have already chosen your candidate, go ahead and pray about it. Look intently to see if their platform and campaign promises line up with the Bible.

Pray for each candidate.

Pray for honest, peaceful voting and for clear results.

Pray for our attitudes toward others who may not vote like us.

Let’s all cover this election (and every election going forward) in prayer, and truly seek God’s will for our communities, our state and our nation.

2. Respect

It’s great to be excited about your candidate and there’s nothing wrong with spreading their campaign messages. Actually, let me clarify that statement. It’s fine to promote your candidate unless your methods don’t respect others.

Does your social media post shame or belittle someone who feels differently than you? Are you pointing fingers, making angry comments, or using guilt tactics on people who make it clear they plan to vote for another person? Are you making assumptions that other people haven’t thought about their vote just because they support a different candidate?

The Golden Rule is very simple: Treat others how you want to be treated. I think it’s safe to say that all of us want to be treated with respect.

Respect that others have a right to choose for themselves who to vote for. That respect begins with the assumption that the people in my life probably do not need my help in deciding how to vote.

Remember. You are only responsible for one vote. Your own.

3. Agree

I’m not just talking about agreeing to disagree. I’m talking about actually agreeing.

We may not all agree on who will make the best president. After all, it’s not Texas 1952 anymore.

Even so, I would venture to say that 95% of us regular Americans can agree on many things, such as the following:

• We are for peace in the land and living in safe communities.

• We are for seeing our nation thrive and our economy do well.

• We are for our children and grandchildren growing up in a nation where opportunities abound.

• We are for America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

So, instead of bickering over candidates and letting the media’s talking heads further divide this nation, let’s refocus on how we do agree with each other.

4. Vote

The biggest travesty of most elections is the lack of voter participation.

You have a voice. It matters. Get yourself to the polls and cast your vote.

Better yet, be the kind of voter who stays informed. Our elected officials work for us. Speak up. Write letters. Send emails. Sign petitions. Go to your town hall meetings or show up at the state capitol.

If you want to see our country doing better, then it’s time to resolve to be involved.

5. Trust

Finally, let’s remember the Bible says this about our elected leaders:

“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

Romans 13:1

No matter who walks away from this election with the right to be President of the United States for the next four years, that person will only have that authority because it was granted to him by God. That’s why we can trust this election to our Heavenly Father. He already knows how it all turns out. He’s got everything under control.

We may not have an easy ballot like those Texans had way back in 1952, but we don’t have to shiver about this election and its results anymore either.

Why?

Because God’s got this. And we can trust this election and its results to Him.

With prayers for peace among us all,