Even Superman has his Limits

Last night I hit another limit as a single dad. There was something I wanted to do to help my son, but there was no way it could be done. We knew it and instead he had to withdraw from something we both wanted him to do. After he told me what the problem was, I sat there for a moment thinking of ways we could overcome it and then God spoke to me. "You're not Superman and neither is he."

I'm not engaging in hyperbole, either. It was so different from my normal reaction - I hate to surrender on anything and I always feel guilty about backing out of anything we start. This was different. It wasn't my voice, it was God speaking to me. I know. There was a calmness in the decision. There was regret, but the decision was made without anxiety.

(No, I haven't gone off the religious deep end. Calm down. Once in a while I get inspirations. So sue me.)

In any case, about half an hour later, I started thinking about Superman. Even if I was Superman, there would be limits to what I could do. You can't simultaneously save a train from derailment in Texas and stop a car from going over the cliffs of Dover. Someone's going to get hurt and there's nothing you can do about it. Superman is a localized deus ex machina.

After I thought about that, I didn't feel such regret.

Well done, Superman! Unfortunately an airliner in the Congo just crashed, killing all aboard.