Yesterday at 4:06 pm, I pulled onto the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC — the end of my four hour, 265 mile drive. I know it was 4:06 because that was also the moment that the local NPR station announced that, because of weather-related travel difficulties, Tony Kushner had been forced to cancel his scheduled speech and book-signing. I did the only thing I could do. I drove over to my motel and cancelled my reservation, called my wife to tell her the news, then headed west on I-40. 265 miles later I was back home.
I don’t get upset about things over which I have no control. I just don’t. It’s not in me. I am deeply disappointed, though — and for several reasons that I won’t go into here. The good news is that, during my nine hours in the car, I was able to listen to several evangelical preachers, evangelical money managers, and evangelical counselors on the radio. Things I learned:
- Meditating on God’s splendor will sustain me in the hard times. Also, meditating on God’s splendor will sustain me in the trying times and in the darkest times. (It was a 3-point sermon.)
- Once I have saved three months’ living expenses, I should glorfiy God by putting 10% of my monthly income into IRAs and high-yield bonds.
- Even if it’s painful and boring, I should listen to my wife talk for 10 minutes every night. (Don’t worry, guys, once she realizes that it’s ten minutes every night, your wife won’t need to talk your ear off all in one excruciating sitting.)