We flew to Fort Myers yesterday and are in Naples today to be with a friend who was hospitalized and is recuperating. Despite the circumstances, I’m very grateful for times like this to have trust and flexibility with work to be able to be here.

Naples Community Hospital, by the way, has to be one of the best located hospitals in the United States. In between visits/shifts at the hospital, we were able to walk the few blocks from the hospital to Naples Beach. The beauty of Naples and the beach are at odds with the difficulties and uncertainties that so often characterize hospitals—the beauty of the world seems to beckon to us to stay forever.

It turns out that all this beauty is a gift of God, who intends it merely as foretaste of the beatitude for which we were made.