I’ve had a lot of weird and wonderful requests made of me in my forty-something-years, but one of the best came my way a few months ago! Let me see if I can put it into context for you. If being asked to sing Handel’s Messiah underwater rates a ten on my wacko scale, this request was a solid seven.

One of the most popular features at “Graceland” is the “Heavenly Top Ten.” It’s a common occurrence to get requests to use the lists in Church newsletters and so on. But the young man that requested permission to copy my lists this time around, had a use for them that was a little more imaginative, to say the least! Seems that he thought it would be a good idea to print them and post them in the men’s washroom in front of the urinals so that the men would have something to do while they were otherwise occupied. I have to admit that I laughed for quite some time after reading that email! In fact, my emotions and imagination ran the gamut of human experience as I contemplated my reply to this earnest young man.

At first I was flattered that my admirer was interested in enshrining my lists in such a splendiferous porcelain palace, but then my pride became a little “flushed”. I mean did I REALLY want my words to be in such a place? And did I REALLY want people to read my list while there were . . . well, you get the idea. The honour conferred on me with such a request certainly wasn’t akin to winning the Pulitzer — or was it?

But, then again, this young man was 18 years old; working the summer as the janitor for his church. Could I fault him for wanting to go beyond the realm of Spic and Span? He wanted to do more than was asked of him. He wanted not only to do his job, but also to minster and encourage the congregation. How could I possible blame him for going the extra mile?

Ok, so now you’re wondering, what did Grant do? Did he say yeah, or nah? What else could I do? I thanked the brother for his interest and commended him for his imagination. Then, I sent him off with my blessing. Ok, so what’s the point?

• God can use what we give Him in wild and wonderful ways that we would never even dream of, or even consider.
• No matter what we do in this life, as followers of Christ, we have a sacred calling to go beyond what’s expected and serve everyone as if we’re serving Christ himself. You may be a housewife, a doctor, an accountant, a ditch digger, or anything in between, it doesn’t matter — God wants you to give your best and then some. If you’re getting paid to clean a washroom, be the best washroom cleaner you can be and go beyond what’s expected to reach for that which is excellent.

Praise God that He’s able to use my meager offerings in so many wonderful and diverse ways.

Toronto isn’t exactly the kind of environment in which you expect to be accosted by wildlife as you walk down the street (at least of the nonhuman variety). True I was bitten by a dog a month or two ago, but dogs aren’t wildlife; they may be dangerous to clothing, leg and limb, not to mention shoes, but that doesn’t make them wildlife.

Well, this morning a Mutual-of-Omaha-moment literally dropped from the sky.

There I was, early morning, walking to work. In my hands were my lunch, a book, and more importantly, a coffee that had yet to touch my lips.

I was walking, head down, semi-conscious; greeting the day with my usual enthusiasm when it happened. Out of the corner of my eye two grey forms descended with the considerable speed that only open air and gravity create.

The two greeted the ground with a loud thump. Then, after a momentary mental adjustment, they ran in separate directions. It seems that two squirrels fell out of the tree above my head. They missed landing on my head by no less than two feet.

I was briefly startled and then greatly amused. It is not every day that you see the lords of the urban jungle fall out of their vertical homelands — especially so close to ones head!

Once again, even in the dim reaches of my pre-caffeine shuffling, I was made aware of another world, another drama, another reality, if you will, going on around me. What caused gravity to override the nimbleness of squirrel feet? I have no idea, I didn’t hear a scuffle, but maybe I just wasn’t tuned into the fight.

Life is happening all around us. Battles are ragging unseen around us — some far more substantial and life-threatening than a couple of squirrels. Just because we walk through our days and lives, numb to their reality doesn’t mean they aren’t there. All we have to do is wake up, or better yet look up!

How important are my words? I often ask myself that question. The stuff I do at Graceland takes time and effort. It sucks up most of my free-time and some of my sleep. In November of 2006 it will be ten years since I started Graceland. That is almost an eternity on the net—particularly for a personal site.

As you can imagine, from time to time the question arises—why bother? How important is this internet stuff that I do? Does the impact and satisfaction justify the work and sacrifice? Many days I am not quite so sure. Some days I am absolutely positive that it isn’t! This past week God gave me a bit of a perspective nudge with a virtual 2 x 4.

Some of you might have noticed that earlier this week “Cold Feet” went AWOL. My buddy and net mentor Rod inadvertently zigged when he should have zagged and a redirection on his site rendered my blog invisible. Given the scope and technical nature of all that Rod does, it amazes me that this kind of thing is such a rarity.

So, for a day and a bit my “Cold Feet” was replaced with Rod’s “Dog’s Nose“. Trust me—it was as uncomfortable as it sounds! While such a switch may have been a welcome break for most of you, it was unsettling for me. I would love to say that I kept calm, cool, and casual about the whole thing and that I didn’t jump to any conclusions, but that sadly isn’t the case. My reaction was more like a two-year-old in a daycare: “Don’t touch! Mine! Mine! Mine!”

My insecurity started to stir. From my perspective, I couldn’t see how a redirection could be anything but intentional. Then the questions came. Is this censorship? Did I offend someone? Did Rod get sick of me and my techno- whining? My heart started to pound; my mind started to swim in an ugly cesspool of my own making.

I am so thankful that I prayed and that I didn’t make any accusations or become angry in my anxiety before I heard back from Rod. He has enough on his plate without having to deal with an angry bonehead. Dealing with a docile bonehead is trouble enough!

Here is what I learned during this brief blackout:

• First, words, my words, are very important, at least to me, and hopefully a smattering of the discerning. I had no idea how important they were to me until I started to consider that my thoughts were no longer available. To be honest I felt violated. Even though it didn’t make sense, based on what I know of Rod, I still felt that way. I couldn’t help it.

• Second, you are what you say. Sure “actions speak louder than words” and “words are cheap”… yada, yada, yada, but words: what we say, and how we express ourselves, communicate who we are and what we care about. For good or for bad, our words represent us. With that in mind, phrases like: “I was only kidding,” “I didn’t mean it,” and “I’m just having a bad day” should never have to be uttered. Your mouth is loaded, make sure you are careful about where you aim and shoot it off. Your fingers are loaded as well, so be careful about what you type and send in e-mail and chats. Often the Net increases our cruel carelessness and it also allows us to jump to conclusions at hyper speed.

• Finally, we need to give each other the benefit of the doubt and wait on the facts. I knew that some of the conclusions I was coming to about Rod had no basis in experience. They didn’t make sense. Rod wouldn’t do what I was, in my anxiety, imagining. To be honest with you, I am ashamed about some of my imagined “gems”. My emotions were on caffeine overdrive all day—all for naught. What a waste of time!