Playing the Cards You Are Dealt

One of the joys of our family Thanksgiving celebration is playing table games together. This year we played an old favorite, Sequence, and a new card game 3-13.

I only play card games a few times per year these days. As kids, we played quite often. One common theme in nearly all card and dice games is that success is a combination of skill and random chance, or some might call it "luck".

Because of the random factor, long-term enjoyment of these games may require not taking too much credit or blame for your success in any particular game. Even the most experienced players have turns when their options and chances for victory are extremely limited. And the beginners sometimes get a good hand or roll of the dice that makes victory quite easy.

Life can be that way too. And perhaps that is why these games are popular. Parts of our lives reflect our skill and choices. Other things are beyond our control, but not beyond God's control. Whatever hand we are dealt, we need to adapt and try to make the best of it.

Life may not seem fair at times. Some of the success stories, depending on how you define "success", are due to skill and wise choices. Sometimes they were dealt an easy hand with life experiences and relationships that were conducive to doing well. On the other side, not every person lacking in some way got into that situation entirely by bad choices. We have to be careful in our judgments of people, both positive and negative. Even in the most foolish of choices, most people choose what seems best at the time.

Most of us are dealt a mixed bag of circumstances and life situations. For me, some parts of my life have been a struggle. But I have had an easy "hand" in the areas of health and intelligence and some great spiritual teachers over the years. I severely lack in areas where others excel and have it easy - and perhaps vice versa. We have a great variety of personalities and sets of circumstances. We each have a unique story.

Whatever hand you are dealt, I hope you can choose to make the best of it. We cannot change the past. But we can make choices today and in the future. Give thanks for those parts of your life that have been relatively easy. And don't forget to thank God and any individuals that helped you along the way.

For any immediate family reading this, I am thankful for you and that a large family has consistently gotten along pretty well all these years. In that area, we got an easy "hand".