Hi, God. I know we haven�t talked much lately, and it�s mostly my fault� I�m bad that way. I know that mostly, I tend to call on You when I want something. I�m bad that way, too. I wish I could say I don�t want anything right now and I was just saying �Hi, how are You?�, but somehow it never seems to work that way, does it? Must get kind of frustrating for You, hearing the same old prayers and pleas day in, day out. Must be rare that someone just tunes in and says �Thanks God, I�ve got it pretty good.�

This probably won�t be any different. You must get this particular request thousands of times a day.

I�m getting on a plane for the first time tomorrow� of course, You know that already. You must also know I am terrified. I�m really, really scared. I have constant visions of the plane going down and never seeing my family or friends again.

God, I know I am not always as good as I can be. I try to be good, and I think mostly I succeed. I am sometimes selfish, and sometimes kind of callous. I�m also very loyal and very loving. I can do the things I am scared of when I have to (and I will get on the plane tomorrow in spite of the visions I�ve been having) and I know that I have courage when I need it� courage I think You gave to me.

I guess what I�m getting at is� could You maybe see fit to allow me to land safely tomorrow? I�d greatly appreciate it. I can�t promise You I�ll do some great deed or that I�ll donate so much of my money to charity or something� but I do promise that I will continue to try to do my best and I�ll never lose faith in You. That�s not a lot, maybe� but I think perhaps it�s worth more than the promises You get from people every day who won�t follow through� promises that aren�t kept as soon as the person making them gets out of trouble.

If it makes any difference, I am very grateful. I�ve got a nice place to live, people who love me and I know who I am and like most of the things about her. I�ve made some mistakes, but learned from most of them, and I�ve made a difference in some people�s lives. I guess if You feel the need to take that plane down and not allow me to make it home safely� there are worse times to go. I�m pretty happy and I have come a long way. I just feel that there�s a lot farther for me to go, and I have so much more to do. I�d really rather stay here and work a bit longer, if You don�t mind.

But if You really, really have to take me�I guess all I can ask is that You�ll see fit to reunite me with my brother and my grandpa, and I hope You�ll find someone to look after Oscar until it�s his time. Pretty much everyone else I think can look after themselves, and they all know I love them.

Oh, and God?

� thanks.