When I was but a wee lad, I remember overhearing my dad talking to a good friend who owned a trucking business. Apparently, one of his truckers hadn’t paid attention to the height on an overpass and had destroyed the rig. For a six year old boy this was riveting stuff, as he described the process of getting that truck out from under the bridge.

I’ve been having a difficult time lately. Nothing major, it’s just that life has seemed really hard and feels overwhelming. Now, I know what I’m experiencing is nothing compared to the trauma many of you are going through, but it does remind me how circumstances can color our view of life if we don’t maintain the right heart attitudes.

I can’t believe the price of gas. I never dreamed I would pay more for a gallon of gas than I do for a gallon of milk. The squeeze to my pocketbook has me thinking of alternative fuels and hybrid cars. Living outside of town leaves me with a lengthy daily commute and I’ve got to find a more economical way to get to work. At the same time, I know with my current vehicles I’m stuck, because my cars run only on petroleum products.

I’ve been praying for Governor Spitzer this week. How well I know the trauma of painful disclosures. For those of us who have recovered from this sort of crisis, Spitzer’s and other public discoveries remind us so vividly of what we’ve overcome and what we’ve learned.

How’s your life? Do you feel like you’re doing well in life, like you know where you’re going? Do you feel like you have good instructions for how to live? These days we rush around a lot, not leaving much time for planning, for contemplating, frankly, for God. Dallas Willard writes a parable about our time:

"Recently a pilot was practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down.