I posted earlier this month about my decision to take money I was going to put towards satisfying my want to get a Nintendo Wii and giving it instead to those who needed through a donation of $500 to Heifer International. I had an interesting turn of events today at work that made me think back to that decision. I've been working for a company in town called ByteSpeed since August building computers. I'm there part-time and work anywhere from 8-24 hours a week, so my role is fairly limited. Today as the clock inched closer to 5 p.m., I got called into the office of my manager. This had never happened before, so I was a little apprehensive. I sit down and get the news that I'll be receiving a Christmas bonus to the tune of $500. The exact same amount I donated to Heifer International. To quote the teacher from The Incredibles, "Coincidence?! I think not!"

Give and you shall receive I suppose. After I got my bonus I thought, "Hey, I could use this money and actually get the Wii now." But I'm still not going to. Because I don't need it. Instead, I think I'll keep giving, receiving, and giving some more. That sounds like a good plan to me.

I also got some not-so-great news at work today too. My boss is a guard member and he just got called up. He'll be leaving work next Friday and he'll eventually wind up in Afghanistan for close to two years. I hate this war. I hate that it's killing "enemies" and our troops overseas. I hate that families won't have their loved ones around for the holidays (or ever again).

Pray for him and his family. Please. Thank you.

And, G-d, wherever You are in this mess we've made of Your creation, please guide us back towards You. I don't want us to wander blindly anymore.