As far as Bigfoot hoaxes go, it was short-lived one. - from Bigfoot Hoax: "Body" Is Rubber Suit

I really wasn't following this story too much. After all...Bigfoot??? I went to the news article and started following the links and discovered a world I never knew existed. Oh, I knew there have been Bigfoot sightings and all. My daughter did a report in the 5th grade on Bigfoot and I helped her find some of the material. I had no idea there was a culture surrounding Bigfoot.

For those who don't know the story, there were a couple of guys who said they found a dead Bigfoot. Who are you going to call? SearchingForBigfoot.com. They 'paid' for the frozen body, had a press conference and then started thawing out the body. Steve Kull, a Sasquatch Detective (yes, that's right. His website is at: http://www.squatchdetective.com ) took some hair to analyze, but when it was heated it up it "melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair." That made them suspicious, but when they got to the rubber foot...well...you get the picture.

I'm discovering that it is possible to fail, yet succeed. Sometimes we try so hard to succeed at things that, in the end, just don't matter that much. The danger is that we succeed in those things, yet fail at the things that really matter. I'm discovering that it is possible to lose, yet win. That in order to save yourself, you must lose yourself, abandon yourself to the Mystery that is God.

I'm grateful for these lessons. I pray they are lessons that last and make a difference in how I plan my day and what I make my focus. After all, there is a chance that in success, I discover failure. Lord, give me the grace and the eyes to see the difference.

I was reading Looking for Jesus by Adrian van Kaam and stumbled upon this wonderful passage:

Clearly, there is no greater thing we can do than to be faithful to the work of God in the most simple events of our daily life. we must do the common work of every day in an uncommon way-doing this work in loving union with Jesus. It may sometimes seem easier to do great things than to do small ones. The grandeur of an enterprise, the excitement of a splendid project, the interest of others carries us forward. Their admiration sustains us in such moments more than Jesus' grace. We act, then, not because of him but because we feel successful, important, liked, needed. We become spellbound by praise, so much so that we no longer hear his voice in the depth of our hearts. Bewitched by the projects of people, we become estranged from the Father's work. Spoiled by success, we may become alienated from him. - pg 102.

Wow. I believe he nailed it. I find it is easy to get off track of following God's will because the pull of the 'grand plan' is so strong. Instead of being faithful to what God has called me to, I run off following my own dreams and visions. I'm not sure it is a problem just with me. How many of our plans are really of God?

Early in his ministry Jesus had to face these same temptations. Satan took him aside and started suggesting how he could make a grand statement by changing stone to bread, leaping off the temple, or even worshiping Satan himself! Perhaps Jesus knew that God calls us to be faithful, and at times that faithfulness is shown in the small matters and not necessarily in grand expressions.

Maybe it is time for me to put my dreams and my visions on hold and allow Jesus to live through me, even if that requires simple dreams and visions. As van Kaam writes, success can spoil our relationship with God and even alienate us from him.