WHAT IS WINNING, ANYWAY?

 

Walking into the casino, I reached into my pocket to make sure my final quarter hadn't fallen out. It was different than most of the places I'd been to in my life, lacking the typical smell of smoke and not a drop of desperation seen on the faces of the strangers around the blackjack table.

I walked up to the slot machine, pulled out my quarter, and kissed it for good luck. I sure needed a lot of luck about now. I put the quarter in, grabbed the handle, and the pictures went round and round until they finally slowed down and landed on a match. And with that, the weight of all those falling quarters sang throughout the lobby, people turning to me, nodding and clapping.

I can't believe it, I won.

I won enough money to stop there, but today, I was feeling lucky. I grabbed one of the winning quarters and played it on the machine to my right. With a similar action, the pictures on the machine went round and round until they finally stopped. More quarters, more people, and this time a "ding, ding, ding" sound pierced the room while I looked up at the now brightly lit marque and read the words, "You're Healed."

And then I woke up.

I've thought about this dream often since I had it the night I came home after my last surgery. One, because I'm not a gambler, I wonder how my brain even knew how to work those machines. Two, because of those "You're Healed" words that were so brightly lit up, the people in the casino looking at me and applauding. I had won the jackpot. It was so vivid, there was so much joy, I didn't want it to end.

But life isn't a gamble. It's a well-thought-out plan created by our Creator that can't be bet on or hoped for.

You can't count cards in the game of life.

So what happens if you don't feel you've been dealt a good hand? And what does it really mean to win? Win at love. Win at fighting cancer. Win in your relationships. Win in life.

I've had a lot of time to think these days while I'm healing up on the couch, and the topics have become much deeper than I ever could have imagined since my prognosis. I've come to one conclusion: With God by my side, either way, I win. Whether I live or die, and regardless of when... I win. You see, we have already won because of what Jesus did for us that day on the cross. Pretty cool, right?

Approaching life from a place of acceptance and gratitude has made all the difference. By accepting our circumstances, we can have a base from which to grow. When we realize that God has a plan and a purpose for us, we can more readily accept His path for us. Instead of wishing for different outcomes, we can focus on doing His will no matter what circumstance we are in.

Does that mean we can just slide through life and not try to better ourselves? I don't believe so. I think we are created in a way that we can make decisions. Decisions that go against God's teachings. Or decisions based on what we learn in the Bible while taking advice from trusted Christian friends and family to help us through life.

And does that mean that we can't complain? Sort of.

Sure, I'd rather not have cancer, but then I'm reminded of all the amazing things that have happened in the last seven months: stronger relationships, stronger marriage, and a strengthening of my own faith.

And what about all God is doing behind the scenes that we don't know about? I've had people commend me for my attitude through it all, and I find that really kind and sometimes surprising because by putting it all out there, I feel I've grumbled substantially more than I typically would in life. But at least I've been real. I am authentic in my feelings and relationships and forthcoming about how much it means to me that you (yes, you!) are saved and have a relationship with Jesus Christ as well.

We can be sure that God is always at work in us and through us.

It's like the saying, "Blessed to be a blessing." I pray daily that I can be a blessing to someone else, helping them grow closer to Christ, being a good friend and wife, and showing that we can trust and still obey no matter what difficulties or joys we're going through. In these things I do feel blessed, it's not just a cliche catch-phrase, But rather something to ponder on (and act on) each day in how we want to live our life and the people we want to surround ourselves with. And don't forget how we spend our time.

One truly wins in life by acknowledging that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he rose from the dead. That day on the cross, he paid for our sins, a gift that was given freely to us as long as we place our faith in Him.

Check out GotQuestions.org for a further explanation of what it means to be saved along with many Bible verses to support it all.