A Wii bit of anticipation

Today was largely uneventful, spent waiting for people to reply so I can get things done. Evan and Christy made an interesting chicken dish for supper; who'd have thought I'd like something with sauce-less pasta, onions, sausage, chicken, and peppers... but it was really tasty. I got a line on some Wii's that are due to show up at a local store tomorrow, so I'm going to try to snag one first thing tomorrow. Just a day or two more, then I'm off to NY for a week and then a long drive to Illinois and back.

It's a very difficult thing to watch someone who is dying of cancer. It cranks it up a notch when it's someone who you've grown up with and is about your age. It would a miracle for God to heal his disease at this stage; most people would acknowledge that. What most people would miss is that the composure to accept the will of God cheerfully even when it crosses your own in such a drastic way is a far greater miracle and equally impossible by mere human means. If I have one wish for my trip to NY, it would be to be given grace-filled words to speak to a my friends up there who are hurting and a few of whom yet have no grace in their hearts, despite being surrounded with it from their youth. Jesus always displayed that gift, knowing exactly the words that honed in on the real heart issues so intently that almost makes me squirm when reading them.

It's very easy, when confronted by serious issues, to resort to generalization, cliches, and small talk, suppressing discussion of deeper issues to avoiding offense or potentially tense reactions. It's really just garden-variety cowardice, when it comes down to it. What better opportunity could there be to talk about spiritual issues than in a context that brings the issues of life and death into sharp relief? God, give me the courage to say what needs to be said, regardless of the potential cost, and give me tact to match. If any man lacks courage and tact, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.