Bay-ware!

I took my first plunge into e-bay world recently. I have been pricing 2-man backpacking tents for a hike on the Appalachian trail I am taking this spring. I was getting discouraged looking at what I consider ridiculously high-priced tents. I'm sure I have driven cars that are not worth as much as the tents I was looking at. So, I took a tour around e-bay and there was my tent...a Eureka 2-man barely- used tent that was half the price of the new model. I put the tent on my "watching" list and waited. The minimum bid was $60. I would gladly have paid $75. The days ticked by. I checked my tent each day, heck, to be honest each hour and I was driving my family nuts. I was clearly obsessed. I dreamed of the father-son bonding this new tent would allow. I daydreamed and night-dreamed of being in the tent. This MUST BE MY TENT! I must have it! Sunday afternoon I watched the auction as it ticked from 10 minutes down. The $60 bid quickly changed to $80. This was more than I wanted to pay, but now I had the fever. With five minutes to go. I began bidding $1 more than the other mysterious bidder who did not need this tent as bad as me! With 30 seconds to go I got the winning bid! I was elated. Sam jumped on the couch and hooted and yelped. Then with 5 seconds to go the mysterious bidder bought the tent for $1 more than me. AAAAARRGGGG. My adrenaline was pumping and my heart was pounding. Then reality set in. The mysterious bidder had done me a huge favor. The winning bid...

$92

Plus shipping and handling

$122

You know...I can walk in the store and buy a tent cheaper than that...

For now, I am off of e-bay.

God's Will

This prayer by Thomas Merton has been one of the most helpful approaches for me when it comes to seeking God's will (previous post) and you have no clue what that might be. Merton was a Trappist monk who lived near Bardstown Ky. at the Abbey of Gethsemani. In the prayer there is a clear distinction between the general will of God (living to please Him) and the specific will (what we should do). I think Merton's prayer brings a sanity to those of us who fall into the trap of wanting specifics.

"My Lord God I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

Two Types

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."

C.S. Lewis