Sadness and Gratitude

At the end of the day today a man walked into our office. He was obviously intoxicated. He talked to me for a moment. He said he "needed a friend," and asked if he could talk to me "one-on-one." He sat down in one of the guest chairs and then began to complain of chest pains. He told me he recently had stints put in his heart.

It was apparent that the man was in need of some sort of help whether the chest pains were real or not.

I called 911 and the EMTs were on the scene within minutes. They examined him and started a line. They got him on a gurney and put a mask on him. He was out the door within minutes.

I was surprised at how cool and calm I was. However, memories of all sorts flooded through me. Twentyone years ago I stopped drinking.

Had it not been for the grace of God and many of his helpers, the man on the gurney could have been me. I too could be heading to a hospital for the xth time. I too could be slowly dying. I too could be without hope.

But instead of being hauled off on a gurney, I am here to celebrate the beginning of life of my grandchild.

It's just one of those days.

God grant me the sernity to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

MontereyJohn