Face-space, My-book, Kidneys, Key Lime Pie...

I get all of these social networking things mixed up sometimes. Yeah, I get it, Facebook is more popular than oxygen right now, and I continue to hold out on principle. I got onto a rant with a friend recently and I mixed up my words, and listed out all of the internet stuff in a way that went something like this: "Face-space, My-book, Tweester, Skypster, YouMooch, Flicker, SuckedIn (that's a play on LinkedIn, in case your mind started to wander), Bing, Ding, Fling, Wing, Hop, Top, Bada-Bing, Bada-Boom..."

I'm almost 30. I might as well be 300. I sounded like a bitter old curmudgeon. It's probably because I start with, what I believe, is the reasonable assumption that these type of internet services are from the devil. Don't ask me how blogs fit into the picture... I haven't figured out something clever to mask the fact that I just like to spout.

They say that these services are 100% free, with which I disagree. Maybe it won't cost you a dime, but it will cost you inordinate amounts of time and energy, carpal tunnel syndrome, social drama, more time cleaning up the social drama, and maybe even a bodily organ.

Huh?

My buddy Phil Hoover over at Something to Consider (www.philhoover-chicago.blogspot.com) used to rant with me about those sites... until he dumped me in favor of another perspective. Yes, humiliating. Then, an amazing story ensued that, depending on your viewpoint, will eventually convince me to either get a Facebook account, or never go near a computer again in my lifetime.

A little over six months ago, Phil caved in and signed up for Facebook. He told me right after that he was very pleased. I immediately countered that I was not pleased. "But, hey, whatever floats your trend-chasing boat," I thought.

On maybe Day 2 of Phil's new life reborn in the grace of Facebook, he came across some page for a friend of his, a professor from when he was at Lee University, Dr. Bill George. He was in terrible shape and in need of a kidney, because both were shot and he was on dialysis several times a week. I can't imagine how grueling that existence must be. The facebook page asked people to consider testing to be a kidney donor.

And Phil, for all of his quirks, immediately went to one of his two consistently awesome tendencies. The first is his preparation of key lime pies and home-cooked southern biscuits. The other is prayer.

He got down to business and baked a key lime pie for... just kidding. He prayed. He cried out to the Lord and said that someone, somewhere, in God's kingdom, there is a match as a kidney donor. And that still, small voice told Phil, You are a match. Search Phil's blog back several months, you'll see a post that asked everyone to pray about this.

Scientifically, the odds of Phil being a match as a donor are beyond the odds of the Cubs winning a decades worth of World Series rings by 2020. But Phil just knew he heard from God. And he got tested. And tested some more. And jumped through more hoops. And received a phone call one day...

"Mr. Hoover, you are a suitable donor." I was stunned, but I've learned that I like God's chances when the odds are stacked against Him. Being the underdog doesn't mean a thing when you are under God.

Now, it would be a nicely packaged story if the surgery occurred right after that, but Phil had to persevere and endure more testing, required weight loss, some lifestyle changes, and the like to prepare. Phil got the message in early summer, and ultimately it would take until the very end of October for the surgery to come. Phil's resolve remained strong, in spite of growing weary at times. For once, Phil's stubbornness worked in his favor...

Long story short (well, shortened, just slightly), Phil donated his kidney last Wednesday to his good friend, and Dr. George received it right away, and now, according to Phil, is "peeing like a water fountain."

I always tell Phil to leave the clever attempts at analogies to me.

I spoke with Phil several times in the days following the donation, which was a treat. All those painkillers make for some memorable conversations in people. The most memorable one was the one that didn't happen. Phil called me at 12:37am a couple days after the surgery. Obviously, Phil was on massive loads of morphine if he thought he was going to have a conversation with me at 12:37am. I guess it would be interesting to see which of us would have been more coherent at that point...

He's gotten calls from all over the world, and offers to tell his story on prestigious programs like Oprah and Good Morning America. All he's done is tell his story on a Christian radio program he likes, because, as he says, "This is about God, not me." But he will tell about how God was in it all, in a miraculous, loving way.

Phil is returning to Chicago soon. I can't wait to see him, and I will temporarily move in with him for a little while to help him out as he recovers. He won't be able to lift more than five pounds for a while, so I'm a bit worried about how much pampering he'll expect from me.

I'm also looking forward to eating a lot of his key lime pie. Yes, he probably won't be able to bake any for a while. But, remember my priorities. I agreed to stay with him for a while after the surgery on one condition... that he bake a bunch of key lime pies beforehand and store them in a place where I can find them, in the event that he didn't make it out of the surgery.

Phil's doing well, so I'll have to share the key lime pie with him. It will still be a tasty privilege to dine with a man who received such an honorable assignment from God and so sacrificially pursued it.

And thank God. Thank God!!! The Lord proved so much through this great testimony, but I'm first and foremost walking away with the assurance that God's in control. There's no such thing as odds. There's no such thing as chance, luck, being without hope, or being without a prayer. He is a miracle-working God who has no limits to His love for us! PRAISE GOD!!!