Not Alone

Strange as it may seem, the new Pope and I have something in common.

"At a certain point, I prayed to God `please don't do this to me,''' the 78-year-old pontiff recalled. "Evidently, this time He didn't listen to me.''

It's somewhat comforting to know that there are far more studied people than I whose advice isn't necessarily heeded by God. It's a bit of a reminder of who is in charge. If the Pope, who is almost certainly more dilligent and disciplined in his prayer life than me, has to accept that God's will is different than his, then I should be able to as well. A tiny bit of the guilt of "it must be my fault for not praying hard enough" has been lifted.

On an unrelated note, the first bunch of doctor's appointments are done. Nothing really bad came out of cardiology. Doug's heart is a bit bigger than normal[1] (but you can tell that by his sunny disposition). The doctor said that at this point in time it isn't causing him any trouble, and isn't even an indicator of future problems. These tests will be used as a baseline for future comparisons. We really hate the sticker things they use for EKGs though. They stick on waaaaaaay too well.

[1] Technically, it's just his left ventricle that's bigger by not more than 10%.