So yesterday I was singing and I took my eyes off my music for just a second, and I messed up. When I went back, I couldn’t find my place. It made me so mad because I was leading and my mistake threw everyone off. I got caught up in a “me” moment and lost sight of the message
I played poker for the first time the other day. And Joelle told me that the key to winning is learning how to read your opponents–knowing when, like Kenny Rogers sings, to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Very often, it has very little to do with the cards you actually have and more to do with the cards your opponents think you have. You have to master the art of bluffing, and that can never happen when you rely solely on your own luck. I’m not a lucky person–blessed but not lucky–and I don’t have a poker face, so, needless to say, I also didn’t have a lot of chips.
Feeling lost, whether you’re singing or playing a game or just trying to maneuver through life, is never fun. I don’t have a good sense of direction. When I take my eyes off the map and try to rely on my own GPS, it’s never a good thing. Every nightmare I have ever had has been about being lost–really lost–and before I ever find my way out, I always wake up so happy that it was just a dream.
I have a few friends who are going through some really rough times, right now–not nightmares that the light of day can cast out, but real life challenges. They’re feeling lost and afraid. And the only advice I can give is to fix their eyes on God. We weren’t designed to make it in this life without Him. And when we try, we only end up feeling more confused.
I took a poster off the wall the other day and dropped a thumb tack on the floor, and I didn’t see where it fell. I really hope that it went under the heat register, because if it didn’t, somebody will likely step on it and get hurt. That’s what it’s like when we take our eyes off of God. There is always a chance that we’ll be okay, but we can’t count on it. And even if nothing bad happens immediately, it could just be delayed for a little while. We just don’t know and it can eat away at us.
When I was playing poker, a few times I showed my cards and asked for help. We weren’t playing for money so if my son or my husband intentionally led me astray, the worst thing that could happen is I would lose some lousy chips and not my life savings. The great thing about God is that we can show Him anything and He’ll always give us the very best guidance. With Him, it is never about luck and always about love.
“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!/All Thy works shall praise Thy Name in earth and sky and sea.” Those are the words I messed up yesterday (and probably because, at that moment, my works weren’t praising HIM.) But the ones that come next, the ones about God being “merciful and mighty,” those I didn’t mess up. So even though I am beating myself up, I know that God isn’t. He is telling me, as He always does, “Don’t fold, Gretchen! We can do this together!” And that’s no bluff! Praise the Lord!
Right Wing Wife 