When former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign in late October, it was one of the hardest decisions he’s had to make. But he didn’t make it alone.
Like all the other ups and downs the longtime politician has faced over the past 30-plus years, he did it with a prayerful heart and with his family by his side. It’s a practice the Indiana native has long adopted, and it’s one he covers closely in his new book, “Go Home for Dinner,” which he co-wrote with his daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond.
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“We’ve sought to make our family and faith a priority, but as doors of opportunity open before us… There are detours. There are challenges. There are unexpected developments,” Mr. Pence told the Washington Times’ Higher Ground. “When you make your marriage and your family a priority, [the] disappointments and detours in your life take their proper perspective.”
But things may have been very different if Mr. Pence hadn’t heard a particular sermon many years ago that stuck with him. The teaching was on Genesis 18 where God called Abraham to “see to the members of his own household,” and as a young father and failed (at the time) politician with big ambitions, it struck Mr. Pence to his core.
“It realigned my priorities,” he explained. “It wasn’t that I gave up in my dreams of public service. It was just I felt a deep conviction grounded in my faith in Christ that said here’s where it has to begin.”
“The decisions that you make to put your family first will be an incredible blessing to your life,” Mr. Pence continued. “And I believe with deep conviction that when we make God’s priorities our priorities, it’s remarkable where He’ll take us.”
And as for the rest of it, the Indiana native makes a daily decision to “stop counting” when it comes to anything other than what matters most — which is probably why he has such a noticeable peace about him.
“[When people ask me], ‘How are you doing?” and… I repl[y], ‘Never better.’ They’d say, ‘Wow, things going great in your career?’ and I [answer], ‘No. Look, my wife loves me, my kids are healthy, I stop counting after that,’” Mr. Pence explained. “And so I think for me…Coming up short in a presidential campaign or not winning that second term of administration, all of those things are much easier to take in stride.”
That’s not to say that Mr. Pence has it all figured out all the time. But at the end of the day, the former vice president can “go home for dinner” and be assured that his heart is content and his family is there waiting for him.
“That simple set of principles about putting your family first, beginning with going home for dinner… we hope this book is a blessing in that regard,” Mr. Pence noted. “But I’m confident about the future. I’m an eternal optimist. I just really believe the day is going to come, and come someday soon, when we all get back to what we know matters most and we’ll make the most difference and we’ll heal our land.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.