God's Will, our responsibility

In the book Linchpin, Seth Godin writes about a dilemma in which he found himself traveling home from a business trip. The plane he was on was stuck at the gate with an expected delay of 90 minutes to 4 hours. Godin went on line, found a rental car, determined that he could drive to his destination in around 2 hours and persuaded the flight attendant to give him permission to leave the plane.

He shares that he offered an opportunity to his fellow travelers to ride with him. He had seats in the car for four other people and he offered them for free.

He had no takers.

"I've thought about that a lot," Godin writes, "Some of these people may have figured I was some sort of extremely well-dressed business-traveler psychopath. My guess, though, is that most of them were very content to blame the airline for their situation. If they had stood up and left the plane, the situation would have belonged to them. Their choice, their responsibility."

I have experienced taking more joy in the disappointment and inviting others into my unhappiness than in offering my limited abilities toward trying some how to engage in relationship to those around me. You know, trying to become better people.

I'd usually rather curse the darkness than to try feel around for the light switch.

I'll wait for God to save me from the flood, waving off the Coast Guard, while the boats go by and the life saver inches closer and closer with every toss.

But somehow, the more you show that you believe in me, the more I want to believe in me.

And in you.

And in God.

It's like the old commercial for Shake and Bake.

It's God's will: and I helped!