“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
Proverbs 16:9
Even the most controlling person in the world, say a
four-star General or a CEO, knows that you can’t control everything. Americans
feel that way about elections. People who work on live television know they
can’t control everything. Go to the intensive care unit and talk to a heart
specialist or an oncologist. Nope, can’t control the outcomes. Sadly, even
pediatric units are full of young patients.
But take a person to
Vegas and suddenly everyone thinks they can control the odds. They are going to
win because they are not losers. They have saved and scrimped so they can win a
poker championship or slot tournament and yet, most of the time, in the final
minutes, something happens that takes it all away. Every nickel, penny and
quarter, not to mention dollar, is gone like a poof of smoke in a magic show. And
yet, we don’t give up taking risks. We jaywalk, smoke cigarettes and eat
fattening foods. Life is a gamble, isn’t it?
I used to think so. Each time we buckled into our cars,
stepped off a curb or took a flight. It all appeared to be a game of chance.
Every shopping cart is a 50-50 toss-up regarding germs. Would it be paranoid to
think that the percentage against me on handshakes could have been deadly?
Maybe it was luck. I had to be lucky to have reached my destinations. I even
survived some surgeries. So far, I’m half-way through flu-season and the odds
are good, but something tells me it’s not about me being Lady Luck. Sometimes
I’m lucky but sometimes I’m not lucky at all.
Of course, there are superstitions that also work on us
everyday. What if we’re booked onto the thirteenth floor? What if the
saltshaker is knocked over? Or you step on a crack? What if I didn’t wear my
lucky necklace? Or carry my favorite purse? These can continue without end:
Leprechauns? Angels? Fairies? Saints? Talismans? Gnomes? Odin? I’ve known sales
people who had to run home for their favorite pen before a workday could begin.
Don’t most of us have a lucky coin? A rabbit’s foot? Or a four-leaf clover? Add in horoscopes and
the Chinese fortune cookies and pretty soon, you have a massive variety of
distractions raising the odds.
Or you can slow down and pray, but I doubt that will give
you triple sevens. Right now, I’m working on my manuscript, Penniless Souls,
which takes place in Las Vegas. My fictional characters are torn between taking
chances and having faith in God. As a woman of faith, I have to admit my love
for angels. Which means the people populating my book can be as lucky as I want them to
be. Or not.
Don't you think that sometimes, what we perceive as winning, may not be winning at all?
It's timing, not luck. Sometimes we think we can beat God's timing and make it happen sooner.
ReplyDeleteNo lucky or favorite item in my possession. Not a gambler either.
Winning can be a matter of timing. What looks like winning in the immediate term isn't so down the line.
ReplyDeleteI never try to win at games of chance. I know that I will lose. Lanny and his Mother would gamble and sometimes win a rather large amount. Neither lost much either. It was fascinating to watch them. Life, however, isn't gambling. It's a gift from God and one lives it using the abilities one was given.
ReplyDeleteThere are ways to win at craps, poker, etc. In publishing, it's more about timing than talent.
ReplyDeleteThese days, I stick with prayer.
Proverbs 16:33 states a general principle: “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.” For me this states that we may think Life is random, filled with lucky or unlucky moments. However, our God is sovereign and luck is not reality. Just my two cents worth!
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