Good morning…
Do you remember the board game “Chutes and Ladders?” As kids, we would take turns flicking the plastic dial on the cardboard spinner, waiting impatiently until it stopped on a number. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Moving spaces methodically to the number indicated, we would race each other up the game board toward the finish line. Turn by turn. Flick by flick. Square by square. Life’s predictable pattern was interrupted only by an occasional “chute” or a coveted “ladder.” If the number on the spinner landed us on a “ladder”, we would cheerfully climb to a higher level, often overtaking an opponent. If we landed on a “chute”, “Darn it!”, we would slide back down to where we had been before, spiraling sadly to a lower level.
Your mind is probably sharing my own adult thought, “Isn’t this game just like life?”
We go along daily, square by square, until we land on an unexpected blessing, carrying us effortlessly to a higher level. A compliment is paid. A promotion is given. A new baby, a new friendship, or a new insight is born. Jumping joyfully over mundane squares is affirming, energizing, life at its best. Yet, in this game called life, it is impossible to avoid landing on some challenging “chutes.” A critical word. Unexpected loss. Physical, financial, or relational set-backs. We slide back down several squares in despair, depleted and disappointed, life at its worst.
Sparking solidarity, here is our simple truth: we will all hit “chutes” and we will all hit “ladders,” experiencing several squares forward and dropping squares back. Our single task in the game of life is to continue to bravely take our next turn, spinning life’s random dial, laughing with those we love, and ascending across the finish line before we pack up the board.
Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner, 1 Peter 4:12-13 (MSG),
Sue
