Who knew Neil Diamond could draw such a crowd?
 
I had the good fortune of attending the bar debut of Cincinnati's shining musical precious, Forever Diamond...as far as I know, the only Neil Diamond tribute band currently wowing Cincy.  Alright, let's be honest...it's a little hard to admit to a room full of co-workers that you plan to spend your Saturday night watching a Neil Diamond cover band, but the truth is, it rocked.  Seriously, it was a fantastic show...Top Cat's was packed, and by the end of it the crowd was shouting "One more song!  One more song!"  Who knew Neil wrote so much fun music?  It's all four chords and cheesy lyrics...but the spirit of Neil was in the room that night (not the ghost of Neil...just his rockin'-out spirit.  Neil's not dead...he's just in Vegas), and his music got a couple hundred people dancing for a solid three hours.
 
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I think it's easy to spend a lot of time waiting for that next thing.  Now, like every other blog entry of mine, I'm just mulling over a bit of dime-store self-examination, but bear with me.  Stacy and I spent the bulk of this afternoon running to various home stores to buy that next perfect item for the new digs.  We found a tiny picture of a Calla Lilly inside of an oversized white frame...ding.  We found candles that happen to perfectly match the dining room walls...ding.  We found brushed nickel toilet paper holders for 50% off...ding.  And, at the end of the evening, as I sat on my front porch and watched the rest of Norwood just sort of sit there and watch me from their porches, I actually thought, "Man...if only I had those last few pieces to assemble the dining room table.  Then this thing would really come together."  After an entire day of terrific finds, unbelievable bargains and more than a few Home Depot receipts wedged between my palm pilot and my still-warm credit cards, I had lack of perspective enough to believe that a few pieces of metal would really make me happy.
 
I am blessed beyond my ability to comprehend it.  I live in a wealth that five out of the six billion people on this planet will never even see, much less experience first hand.  I eat without concern for my supply, I sleep without concern for my safety and I love Stacy recklessly.  My water is clean, my clothes are laundered, and my bank account always has enough to cover my gas money.  I eat out, I change my guitar strings regularly and I saw Spider-Man 2 without wondering for a moment how I would cover the ticket.  I have no idea what it is to truly want for resources, support or companionship.  I have more than I will ever understand, and I know that.
 
So what is it about being human that makes me so ridiculously ungrateful?  Why is it considered human to ignore all the amazing stuff in your life and focus on the negative, be they trite or profound?  Did the Author create us as short-sighted, ungrateful beings...or did we pick that one out on our own?  My true pain was a high-school heartbreak...my true pain was a friend's betrayal... ..have I experienced true pain?  I can't help but feel like, some day, unless I learn to know what it is to be content with what I have, that God will subject me to true pain to help me know what I have lost.  I feel like, some day, the BIG ONE is going to come, and it is going to test the limits of my endurance...that the only way I can circumvent this impending trial is to first learn to love what I have while I have it, and preclude my need for such an experience.
 
Maybe God doesn't work that way any more.  I hope He does...but I hope I can beat Him to it.
 
Peace,
Justin