The Gambler

Yesterday was full of conversations… at our church community café, emails and texts, an evening at the pub…

…Many stories… Children happy in their new school term… wedding dress shopping… a son who’d caused much worry now doing well and being promoted at work… complications with a routine operation leading to hospitalisation… a grown up daughter sitting with her dying dad… a younger wife dying of cancer unexpectedly, quite suddenly…

Kenny Rogers’ song ‘The Gambler’ tells of a young man learning from a wise old gambler,

‘If you’re gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right.’ We’re all dealt a random hand of cards in life. Learning to play the hand we’re dealt, and play it well, is a continuing skill we learn individually and together.

‘So if you don’t mind my sayin’, I can see you’re out of aces…’ Several of my friends yesterday have been dealt a difficult hand with no aces. They’ve got to play it out. The outcome doesn’t look good…

‘You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away and know when to run…’ The hand is dealt. You can’t wish you have someone else’s hand; you can’t opt out. It’s your hand to play carefully, wisely,

‘Cause every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser’. Some folks, dealt with an apparently winning hand have somehow lost; folks who’ve been dealt a difficult hand have played and won. It makes me cautious when I see a winning hand and optimistic when I see a losing hand.

Today…

…Musing on the divine dealer who sees and knows each hand.

…Praying for friends, that, whatever hand they’ve been dealt today, they will be able to play their hand well.

…Praying for myself that, like the old gambler, I’ll have the insight to play my cards well, be there for those holding a difficult hand, and perhaps have a little wisdom to pass on to others.