The Game of Life


Ah...The Game of Life!  Love this game!!  Played it back in the 90's.  Went to college and married, had a great career, huge house, 3 kids, and retired in richy-rich acres, or whatever the wealthy retirement place was called.  Perfect!

Did you ever answer that question at a job interview...you know - "Where do see yourself in 5 or 10 years?"

I could never answer that question.

During my college years, I discovered a verse in the Bible that helped answer why I never had an answer to this question...at least, not a good one..

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

In other words, "A man tells God his plans, and God laughs," so goes a Yiddish proverb.

There you have it.

Through all the trials of life, I have realized that I have to hold on loosely to the things of earth.  Certain things are infinitely more difficult to loosen one's grip on, such as my family members.  I think I could honestly lose all my possessions and still be happy if I had my family.

I believe humor must accompany the most dire circumstances in life.  Why?

Well, if you can't laugh about it, whatever the circumstance, it can overtake you.  Depression, anxiety, stress, anger - these are all reactions to bad situations.  We've all been there.  Humor is how I cope.  Maybe you deal with these situations differently.

How can I laugh in times of stress, pain, and despair?  Well, sometimes I can't.  At least, not right away.

Take my diagnosis of lupus from two years ago.

We had a baby boy, two young girls, were getting ready to move, had no house to move into, and I was really, really sick.  I recall serving dinner one night and I felt so awful I leaned over to my husband and whispered, "I feel like I'm dying."  I really did.  I felt as though life was draining out of me and I had no idea why.  My hair was falling out rapidly and wasn't growing back.  Weight was falling off my small frame and I had begun to look skeletal.  I had just started to Cyber-school my kindergartener.  Life was in chaos!!

When the doctor called with my diagnosis of lupus, there was a smidge of relief, but a huge measure of overwhelming despair.  I cried and cried.  How could I have such an awful disease?  I was supposed to be taking care of my family!  I had such plans for my children!  I didn't know how much longer I could be a wife to my husband.  The future was so uncertain!  I felt so betrayed.  Why, when I was doing my best to serve God, would He strike me with something like this? 

Did I laugh that day?

No, I did not.

It took years to restore the joy that had once filled my heart. 

I found small things each day to be thankful for.  Kind of like Pollyanna.  Do you remember Pollyanna?  She played "The Glad Game" with that cranky old neighbor lady until she began to see the good in life.  Transformed that woman's life.


Making a concentrated effort to find joy and laughter in those days was difficult, but doable.

In those hard days, when I let my mind quiet down, do you know what I heard?  In the depths of my worn-out heart, I heard God whisper: "Trust me."  "I am taking care of you."  "Depend on me."

Two years have passed and, now that my medications are correctly adjusted and doing their thing, I feel so much better!

 During this experience with lupus,  God taught me so much about Himself that I want to shout it from the rooftop:

"My God Is Good!  His Love Endures Forever!  He Is Taking Care of Me.
He Cares for You, Too if You'll Put Your Trust In Him!!"

How did my view change from despair to joy?  God showed me day by day to trust in his plans, not mine.  To rely on His strength, not mine.  To revel in the beauty of his creation, not mine.  He showed me that I don't need to rush around doing everything myself all the time.  I do not need to fill my schedule to the brim to feel accomplished in life.  I do not need validation from a job or a certain achievement level from my children.  He has given me the freedom to just be.

Just live.  Just enjoy.

So I encourage you to:

Enjoy every day on this earth.  Do things that matter.  Love your children.  Love your spouse.

Laugh out loud.  Find joy in the small things.  Praise God for His many blessings.

Why?

Because, when our entire earthly lives equal one little Dot on the rope of Eternity, 
what really matters?

Psalm 30:5 "...weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." 


     


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Easy Peasy Operation Game

Image
 This week, we have been reading Judy Moody, M.D. by Megan McDonald. This third-grade-girl wants to become a doctor in the worst way, and everyone knows it.  One afternoon, she was playing "Operation" with Stink, her little brother. You know - the game with the insets for little plastic "organs."  Like the bread basket and the funny bone .  If you contact the metal sides with your tweezers, the nose lights up and buzzes and you're OUT! I liked this game as a kid, but the loud "buzz" was always unnerving.  Almost as bad as the "pop" when playing Perfection (remember - Pop goes Perfection?).  I decided I could make a homemade version of this without the buzzer and it could be just as much fun.  And FREE! First, I tried using a cereal box.  It was way too deep for the kids to reach into.  I tried inserting egg cartons into the "body" to hold the "organs" in place, but it just didn't work. Besides that, ...
Read more

LEGO Balloon Race Cars

Image
What better way to start the day than to build Lego balloon race cars? Our homeschool enthusiasm has slowed to a crawl lately.  Maybe it's because one gray day follows another, every day is cold or colder, and we have to spend 20 minutes putting on layers of clothing just to walk to the car. I spotted this idea on Pinterest the other night and we just had to do it! 3 Supplies Needed:  Extra bucket o' Legos, Balloons, Creative Kids After a half hour or so of constructing our own individual race cars, (ok - so Bram and Kylie played while I built all three of ours, but that's to be expected) we built some pretty awesome cars (if I do say so myself), but then we needed to come up with a way to attach the balloons.   We built up the back of each car and created a hole in each of the back stacks to insert balloons. It is also important to insert the balloon with the air escaping out the back.  Unless you want the car to go backwards...
Read more

It All Began With Pancakes

Image
Here are a few pics from our first day of school.  These tell a much better story than my foggy memory could put together. We have kept the subjects light, had plenty of time outdoors, and a few field trips!  It all began with pancakes.  Really!  As I rushed around making sure everything was ready, my 10-year-old requested pancakes for breakfast, to make the first day of school really special.  I took the bait.  "Ok- but you have to make them."  And she did! I'm trying to work on learning independence, time management, and new skills.  Cooking is high on the list.  The girls now know how to make brownies, scrambled eggs, five-minute rice, pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Also, microwave quesadillas and popcorn (of course!). Doing chores without complaining is going to be another biggie this year.  Can you believe the girls asked to sweep out the carport?  Instead of saying, "No - I'm going to do this....
Read more