Playing Solitaire

We've been playing a lot of cell phone solitaire in this house recently. The nasty virus that has settled in for a nice long visit has made it much more difficult to be out and about, so we've been spending a lot of time indoors. 

(Let's just ignore the fact that we'd be spending time indoors anyway because it's summer and HOT...and the fact that we should be playing a lot more games together instead of solitaire. Blog posts for different days, I suppose.)

At any point in time, you might catch Destiny, Josiah, or me (or some combination) playing solitaire on our cell phones. Sometimes, it really is a solitary event, and sometimes you find yourself with an audience, telling you each move you've missed.

It's always easier to see the moves someone else has missed; perspective is always different from the outside.

Each game has its choices - moves that look very similar and you just don't know which to choose. Sometimes you think you've made the perfect choices and everything is working out perfectly...until all of a sudden you're at a dead end. Then again, there are times when everything looks pretty bleak and it looks like there's no way you'll win, and then, suddenly, everything works out perfectly.

Our lives feel so much like those solitaire game sometimes - never knowing which decisions to make, how they'll turn out, or what victories or defeats lie ahead. However, there is one major difference...

We're never actually alone. There is always someone in our corner; someone who knows each day or our lives; someone who's waiting for us to turn to Him to get direction on our next move.

God knows every day from the beginning to the end, and He's always there, waiting to give us guidance, support, and comfort. That doesn't mean we won't make wrong moves and experience both victories and defeats, but it means we'll never go through them alone.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I walked through so much of my life blind. I loved Jesus and had asked him into my heart, but ignored the fact that he was waiting to give me guidance.

Sometimes I weighed out my decisions on paper, with columns of pros and cons. Sometimes I just followed my heart (or various other parts of my body). 

I have mixed feelings about all that. I'm sure there's pain I could have avoided if I learned the lesson earlier, but at the same time, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be today.

Nevertheless, I'm here to share what I've learned. 

Maybe you've never considered the fact that the God, who created our universe, who created each cell in your body and knows the beginning and the end, is waiting to give you direction - that He loves you and cares about even the most minute details of your life. 

Maybe you've know that for quite a while, but something you're dealing with today still has you feeling alone, like you're playing solitaire and there's no way to know which move to make next.

Rest in Him today. Give your choices to Him. Read His word and spend some time on your knees seeking His wisdom. Then, wait...be quiet and let Him answer you. Let His peace be yours. 

With that, I'll leave you with a couple scriptures today to remind you of these things. Write these on your heart and recall them when you feel like you're playing life's most endless game of solitaire.