Stuck

I took this picture with my cellphone camera while stuck in traffic. It had started snowing about 2:00 and at 3:00 I had to run a package to the nearest FedEx drop-off site for an overnight delivery to New Jersey. The normally 15-minute roundtrip to FedEx ended up taking more than an hour. Most of the trip was spent crawling at a snail's pace and watching the cars around me fishtail and all the streets, both the main thoroughfares and the sidestreets, become clogged with commuters picking up kids early from school and leaving work early for the day.

Thought I'd kill a minute or two by clicking a shot looking northward on Perkins Extended and emailing it to the Pig Farm.

Hey, at least I'm not one of those poor suckers stranded when this same storm front gave birth to a record snowstorm in the Northeast.

Thank U, Alanis

It's been a while since I last posted. I've been struggling with an especially difficult new client. Trying to find the elusive thing that will make them happy. It's a client that in better times, frankly, I would have resigned. I'm wondering if business will ever be what it was just a year ago. Then, if you've been following my grand-nephew, Will's story, you know that he went in for his second surgery to repair a serious heart defect, the doctors said basically "It doesn't look good," and he is now clinging onto the frayed edges of life. And in the midst of all this, while listening to the words of "Thank U" by Alanis Morissette, I am struck with a rare moment of clarity.

How about me not blaming you for everything
How about me enjoying the moment for once
How about how good it feels to finally forgive you
How about grieving it all one at a time

Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence

The moment I let go of it was
The moment I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it was
The moment I touched down

How about no longer being masochistic
How about remembering your divinity
How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How about not equating death with stopping

Thank you India
Thank you providence
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you nothingness
Thank you clarity
Thank you thank you silence

The world is still revolving on its axis. God is still in charge. I remember His Divinity. I remember this life is not meant to be perfect. I remember that "all good things work for good for those who love the Lord." I remember that God's will is good, pleasing and perfect. And I remember to be trusting -- yes, even thankful -- for disappointment, for hardship, for weakness. If nothing else comes from difficulty, it draws me closer to God. And for that -- for Him, for His presence -- I am grateful.