Inspiration.

A while back, Sra. Lozada got me a gift card for Borders. I used the age-old technique; when you don't know how much money is on a gift card, assume there's A LOT of money on the gift card.

So I strolled into Borders about a week and a half ago like I was the majority stockholder and began scanning the shelves for anything and everything that interested me. I arrived at the check-out counter about 45 minutes later with three books: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary, and Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. All together, they totalled about $30.

Smiling at the clerk as she read out my total, I confidently whipped out my card and slid it across the counter, leaning casually against a display of various upscale bookmarks. She picked it up and I took to gazing off at the coffee shop, pondering what highly sophisticated drink I would later consider choking down.

"Okay," she says, looking at me.

I return her gaze, expecting a "would you like a bag for these?" Nothing.

"Okay?" I question, glancing at the total. $20.98.

"That was $10."

I could almost hear the record screeching to a halt. "Oh, really? Just $10, huh?"

"Yes, you have twenty ninety eight left."

"Oh. Well. Okay, just a second." I fumble for my wallet and open it up. 20 pesos, a one dollar bill, and a Wal Mart receipt for Pez stare back up at me, almost shrugging at my misfortune. I quickly look up at the checker, who has an amused look on her face. "$10, you say?"

About nine minutes later, I find myself running back across the parking lot in front of Borders, having pillaged my car for all my loose dollars and quarters. I had barely scraped together $15.00 (including the $10 on the gift card,) so I had some serious re-thinking to do. I walked out with just one book, Through Painted Deserts, wondering if I had chosen right.

Boy did I. It seems I had forgotten just how much I love Mr. Miller's writing. He writes like I think... like how I try to write.

I open up the book and see this on the dedication page:

"Mom,

Here is the first book, rewritten a bit. I didn't know, when I was living it, that it was about leaving home. I think you always knew. Thanks for letting me go. This will always be yours."

I read that, stopped, and then re-read it about three times. Wow. I dunno what it is about it, but it just kinda takes me aback whenever I read it.

Anyway, I continued on and was immediately neck-deep in Miller's ideas, ironic writing style, humorous approach to life's problems, and unique take on his Christian faith. The book recounts a road trip that he and a friend, Paul, took from Houston, Texas, to Portland, Oregon. (Or that's at least where I think it ends... I haven't finished it, so I'm just drawing from context here.)

Note to reader: DO NOT READ THROUGH PAINTED DESERTS IN A SEASON WHERE ROAD TRIPPING IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE!

I have been looking at mom's big road atlas whenever I get the chance recently, tracing over highways and interstates I have never been on. I can imagine the scorched, red-rock mountainsides of New Mexico and the dripping green shades of Oregon and Washington. I can visualize flying down some deserted road, woven tree branches of the thick forest hissing past. I can feel the ocean breeze kicking up and sending the smell of the sea into my face. I can picture coming up over a hilly street lined with lamp posts and gazing out over miles and miles of cityscape.

But it's winter, I'm broke, and I've got calculus to worry about.

Ah-ha! That's what makes Miller's book so inspirational! You see, he talks about all these things in life that we focus on - he calls them "the how questions." Questions like "how do I become happy?" Or "how do I get money?" Or "how do I make my life better?" When in actuality, the important questions are the "why" questions - "why do I want money?" "Why do I need a better life?" "Why does it seem that I always need to be entertained?"

I guess, drawing from the above paragraph, the reason I go crazy over Donald Miller's books is this reason: He never fails to remind me how simple life really is, and that the only reason it's complicated is because we make it complicated. I mean, look at John the Baptist. His life was simple - he had only what he needed and did only what God wanted him to. He didn't feel the need to become popular, to maintain a good reputation. He didn't want to earn money to buy new things. He made life simple by just following God.

I've decided I need to take a step back real quick and look at some things in my life that I'm stressing over. Do I really even need to be stressing over them? Do I really even need to be spending my time doing them?

I haven't decided yet, but I'll let you know.

Thanks for reading.


-Daniel