It seems that I come in contact with the forces of evil on a nearly daily basis. I'm not talking about peers who have "fallen off the deep end" (a saying that has always struck me as a bit odd. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that they've fallen into the deep end? Assume I'm telling you a story about a kid who falls into a swimming pool. Which part of the story would be more important: the exact part of the deck he slipped and fell from, or the deepness of the water he falls into? As a kid, the deep end referred more to the place where the water was deepest than it did the part of the deck where it indicated the water was 12 feet deep. It's all I'm sayin') who are pressuring me to join them in their evil ways. I'm not talking about staring into the face of demons and battling them with a sword. I'm talking about dealing with people who are bent on tearing me down and making my life miserable. My friend Dave described it thus: "There are two types of people in this world. There are builders and there are wreckers. Builders are people who are in your corner. People who will stand up for you and pick you up when you're down. Wreckers tear you down. You may not always see their influence, but even if they are only wasting your time they are of no use to you and ought to be avoided."
The builder/wrecker theory is a bit too simplistic to really define every person you will ever come into contact with, but you can't deny that you've seen builders and wreckers at work in your life. I see them all around me. Last week I picked up a note I saw on the ground. It was a page from someone's journal that they left for some unknown person to find. It said all sorts of things like: "You're a beautiful person and don't let anyone tell you otherwise" and "The world is a better place because you're in it." The girl included her email address because she wants the finder of the note (me) to write to her and let her know where the note went. I haven't emailed her yet, but I plan on doing so sometime soon. Her note was a definite pick-me-up and anyone who bothers to leave random words of kindness for complete strangers is definitely a builder and deserves to know that her good works are appreciated.
On the other hand, I am forced to deal with a particular person on a daily basis who seems to never tire of finding ways to make my life more miserable and difficult than it needs to be (If you're a longtime reader, you'll know who I'm talking about). This person is the reason I tell people I work in the crap-taking factory and that my job is chief crap-taker.
Things have gotten way out of hand over this last little while. The balance of justice in this place is completely out of whack. All my colleagues are unhappy and tired of the sorts of things that occur on a regular basis. We have called it incompetence, stupidity, and meanness but there seems little doubt now that we are not dealing with mere incompetence or stupidity, we are dealing with evil.
Satan's plan is and always has been to make people miserable like unto himself. The person who has undertaken the task of making me and all the people around me miserable is actually a very miserable person as well. The comparisons to Satan are easy to make and not entirely undeserved.
I have mentioned before that I have a chance of escaping this unfortunate situation into which I have been thrust. I am happy to know that there are nice people working on my behalf in an attempt to help me escape. In the end, the forces of good always thwart the forces of evil. It's not just a good plot line for literary works (though it certainly is a good plot line) it is also the way of the universe.
As we speak, the forces of evil are conspiring on multiple fronts to make my daytime hours an absolute terror. I am currently so angry that I am having a hard time making coherent thoughts. My only solace is that good always triumphs over evil. This is my mantra. This is what will keep my sanity.
I should also mention here that I am planning on writing a book loosely based on my horrible experiences here. I'm still trying to decide how the plot will flow, but it should be a joy to write once I get rolling. I want to write for therapeutic than anything else. I don't expect that I'm going to churn out the great American novel, but I do expect it to be satisfying.
Anyway, I know a lot of prayers are being sent up on behalf of Megan and I and I thank all those of you who pray for us. Heaven knows we need it (that's a funny phrase to throw in there. If you've been praying for us, of course heaven knows. That's where your prayers go). I thank you all for being good people and for being builders instead of wreckers. I promise I will never compare you to Satan.