The Tournament

I played in a 42 tournament this weekend.

The proceeds were to go to our pastor for Pastor's Appreciation day, so I thought I was playing for fun but the partner that I drew played like it was a life or death championship.

I was VERY intimated at first. He was an older gentlemen who knew his stuff, so to speak, and with his obvious and very vocal disappointment whenever I played the wrong hand, I almost withdrew from the game. But then I thought, you know I have been battling intimidation and overcoming failure, so I asked the Lord to help me and I would use it as a lesson in my spiritual battles as well. So I dug in with both feet.

I am glad that I did.

I learned how to play better.

I also learned the gentlemen, as good as he was, also made a few mistakes along the way. He confessed that when he does not win, he cannot sleep because he replays the game over and over all night.

That was very enlightening for me. I realized he does the same thing that I do when I fail at something that I felt like I should have known better than to do. Regrdless of how the dominoes in life fall, we think we should have somehow seen it coming. After all, we have been doing it for years, we are experienced and we are good at what we do.

But every hand is different. Your opponent, the enemy, will make sure he plays the hand that will trick you up when you least expect it. And you knew better.

Those are the hands that give him the most pleasure in winning. He loves catching us off guard, making us look foolish and stupid, even if to no one else but ourselves.

Everyone else just looks at it as a mistake, a bad play. But we take it to heart that it is who we are. But it is not.

One play does not win or lose a game. Nor in life. It is staying in it, looking for a better hand next time and learning from the last one. That is how you get better. And then we can do for someone like that gentlemen did for me. He taught me a few things to look for next time.

Stay in the game, you will be glad you did.

Oh, and the tournament? My partner and I, rightly named "The Misfits" took 1st Place.