I’ve been thinking about something I noticed when I was on vacation with some friends last year. Part of our travels together involved driving on a toll road, which required us to stop from time to time to pay the toll. What struck me about that experience were the people who worked the tollbooths. In fact, I remember one of my friends even saying, “How’d you like to have that terrible job? Can you imagine sitting there for eight hours a day just making change? That has to just deaden your spirits.” My friend’s choice of words has stayed with me since that time. From the looks on the faces of each of the tollbooth workers I noticed, it certainly did seem true that their rather boring job might have in fact “killed their spirits” – they did look bored to death! That image of the bored tollbooth workers is what came to mind for me the other day as I was reading about a man by the name of Kjell Magne Bondevik, an interesting fellow who has twice served as prime minister to Norway and now serves as an envoy for the United Nations. Mr. Bondevik did something rather remarkable for a politician. It was during his first term in office that he came to the realization that the pressures of his work and some pressures at home and within himself had brought on a deep depression. He felt “dead inside” and announced that he would take a leave of absence to seek restoration. He did not seek to cover up his difficulties because he knewthat many people suffer in the same way and he wanted them to know that there is hope. He said that the pressures of life had taken their “toll” on him. He had to do something about it. Like those bored folks working the tollbooths, Bondevik was living in a kind of vertical coffin. He found his way out of his depression by seeking some professional help, by taking many long walks with his wife and by playing with his children. And, because he is a Lutheran minister, he also knew that true restoration involved getting back into an even deeper relationship with God. He did recover and continues to do the things he needs to do to maintain a balanced, wholesome life. Have you ever felt that life is taking an unbearable toll on you? Do you ever feel like you merely exist in a kind of vertical coffin?  What do you think you need to do to find restoration? As Prime Minister Bondevik discovered, that restoration requires some effort, some time with family, friends, maybe a professional, and certainly it calls for a deeper union with God.  You can be certain of this, if you are feeling overburdened, overwhelmed, and worn out, there is much reason for hope. We don’t have to end up bored to death in some old tollbooth!  Fr. Mark