Yesterday we just watched the peaceful surrender of power happen much as it does every 4 or 8 years or so.

Except this time it was different. A black man took the reigns of leadership for our country. It's not so long ago that had he been born by the same parents in the same geographic area he'd most likely spend his days picking cotton. And maybe this man might on Sundays use his skill at motivating people with his words and enthusiasm ... but only in a barn or tattered building where the colored folk went to church.

Thank God a lot has changed since then, and now a huge leap forward is upon us again.

My friends, our nation, and because our nation is still the leader of the free world, we have seen a miracle.

We've been witness to history unfolding as a man that in a different time not too long ago would have been a slave ... instead because of the shoulders that each generation hence has stood upon, we've seen instead the newest greatest hope for unifying the United States in acceptance of diversity.

All us adults and more importantly our children see now that there really is no height that can't be reached because of the color of our skin.

During this past election year, and the inauguration yesterday, most of us that work hard for a living providing for our families and spending what little free time we have in leisure pursuits, we've kinda witnessed this miracle of this new century without really appreciating just how magnificent it is.

Our children's children are going to read about what happened this week in text books adjacent to chapters about how science rid the world of polio, how men first walked on the moon, and how a man that might have been a slave became the leader of the free world.

As for me, I'm in awe over ... not the celebration of the inauguration, but in the heart felt hopes I hang on this new era where advances in appreciation of diversity advance over bigotry and prejudice. This is a milestone for our country and our world. It's an achievement that is as large as any scientific discovery. This is bigger than economics, it's bigger than the petty feuds between nations over oil. It's a blow to terrorism because hope has replace the fear that is the tool of freedom hating people.

Today I pray, Lord, provide our new leader with the courage, wisdom, and strength to take our country and our world into this next century. And, God, if you're listening, pay me no mind, help Barak Obama instead.

--Todd Fogal