The Curse of the Pilots

A couple things on my mind lately.  The first is the Lord's sense of humor and the second is how He is slowly preparing us for life in White Swan.

As many of you might know, I'm a big Mariner's fan.  The last several years I've often felt like Mariners' fans are going extinct and I'm one of the last ones that is holding out hope that we will make a comeback.  It has something to do with the curse that seems to hover over baseball in this town - the curse of the Pilots (an inside joke that I'll explain some other day.)  So in an effort to save some money as we look to join the staff at Sacred Road we decided to not purchase our 16 game pack of tickets this year.

So anyway, we've been going to games for years and I've seen them lose more times that I'd like to remember.  Giving up tickets this year wasn't really all that hard.  I thought they were going to be terrible. Once again.

Here's where the Lord's sense of humor comes in - it is very possible they might actually be good this year. And I don't have tickets.

Most likely this will be the last year I will have to endure what we in the industry refer to as "tax season." Those two words symbolize much: seventy hour work weeks, trying to meet non-stop client demands and requests - valid and otherwise, high stress, spending more time with colleagues at work than you spend with your family at home, and in a weird, sick way actually kind of liking the entire experience while hating it at the same time.  After 20 years of doing this it has just become part of life.

Here's the funny part.  This tax season has been the least stressful, best staffed, lowest amount of drama and fewest hours that I've ever worked.  Largely because of the efforts of the last 2-3 years.  And by all appearances things would continue this way into the future - if I was staying.

At the same time the Lord is telling me:

"You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Luke 12:40

"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."  Luke 12:48

"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'"  John 11:40

"And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong: and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."  Isaiah 58: 11

". . . but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4:14

Now, just nine more days of this tax season.  I hope the M's win at least 4 of 7 during that time.