Happy to be a simpleton...

Pretty ordinary day here. Worked. Attempted to put up a tent. Found out that we were missing a pole. We need to get it before next Wednesday, when we leave for Spirit Song. My grandma made me dinner to take back to my apartment. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, rolls, jello, salad and a brownie (don't worry, I didn't eat it all! Had to save something for lunch tomorrow!) Went to the gym and had a nice workout. Maybe in two years this gut will be gone. Came home. Watched Reno 911 and half of The Daily Show. Need to be quick writing in here because I still have to do my quiet time. Oh yeah, and I really need to shave. It's been about four days and I'm getting to have that really scraggly uni-bomber look. If it was the 90s and I was a teenager, I could pass off the grunge look. But it's 2004, I have a job at a major corporation, I gotta scrape off the whiskers and look the park. :) Sigh. I'm such a sell out. But the good thing about selling out is the money :)

In all seriousness, though, it's funny what I remember today. I know it was a bad day at work with calls coming in from old people, foreign people, and broke people. But I don't remember any of the calls. I don't remember or dwell on the hour or so spent in traffic. Instead, here's what I remember...

The warm hazelnut coffee that helped me stay awake this morning.

Laughing at a text message or e-mail Tim sent.

Getting an e-mail from Erin and learning that she's really making progress on her devotions.

Laughing with Brandon as we attempted to set up the tent and, even though we're in our 20s, told mother jokes.

Playing with my parents' dog.

Smiling in recognition as I looked at the Relient K message boards and found that they were mentioning my cousin's performance at Alive Fest.

My grandmother's cooking.

Having a good workout, which left me feeling energetic and healthy.

Taking a hot shower to relax after that workout.

Driving with the windows down on a summer night with the CD blasting.

It's funny that those are the things I took away from today. Because if any of us were to ask what matters in a day, they probably wouldn't be those things. We get so bogged down in the big things that won't be here forever and we lose sight of the small pleasures God has blessed us with. When we lose sight of those things...the simple pleasures that show us how thrilling it is to be alive, we begin to feel the pressure of this world caving in. We think that the only thing to life is the punch clock at work and living from paycheck to paycheck. But the small pleasures that cause us to smile are the things that give us a taste of heaven, when every facet of our being will be worshipping God. In our relationships, in our laughter, in our service and in our play, everything will be perfect then. For now, we should just enjoy the time we have and look with waiting eyes for the return of our Savior.

Those of you who have kept up with me for awhile know that my favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. And I know I've talked about this scene before, but it just seems fitting to do it again. My favorite image in the movie is of the prisoners standing around in the prison as Andy plays opera over the loud speakers. They've never heard something so beautiful before and, as Morgan Freeman narrates, for those few moments "every man at Shawshank felt like a free man."

Andy is put into solitary after that. And when he returns, he's talking about how that time was the easiest he ever had, because he just remembered the beautiful music there. He says to the inmates that he's talking about hope. Red (Freeman's characte) says that hope is a dangerous thing to have, because there's not much use for it in prison. Andy's words still bring a tear to my eyes every time I see that movie. I know I'll butcher the dialouge, but I'm going to try to get it right.

"Here is where it makes the most sense. You need it so that you don't forget that there are places in this world that aren't made of rock and stone."

When life gets tough I remember those words. There is more to life than a job that drains me, bank accounts that are constantly empty, and plans that go awry. There is hope in the world, and it means God is watching over me.

Andy writes near the end of the movie, "Hope is a good thing. And no good thing ever dies." Truer words were never spoken (well, okay, there are truer words. But just run with it for the sake of argument!)

C-Dubbs