Choosing Something Else Over Luck - Simple Words of Faith

on March 1, 2022

Proverbs 10:6 – The good person is covered with blessings from head to foot, but an evil person inwardly curses his luck.

I remember the first time that I won a prize. It was at an agricultural-based evening meeting with cow judging, food judging food and a speaker. The last item on the agenda was the door prizes. Local companies donated various items. The top three or five “best” prizes were specifically awarded. After this, people picked items from a flatbed hay wagon. Options were a bag of calf milk replacer or a pound of cheese or an article of clothing with the logo of a business on the front.

My name was one of the last names called. There wasn’t much left to pick from. I came home with a Model T piggy bank. It was metal and had a slot on the top to add money. Underneath the car, a metal plate could be removed so the coins inside the car could be removed.

Did I love the car? No. I was slightly infatuated with the idea that my name had been picked! Did I consider myself lucky for finally getting my name drawn? Luck might be a stretch of how I felt at the time.

Is It Luck?

Luck is not something I have invested lots of energy into. I have never bought a lottery ticket or expected my name to be drawn for a big prize. When I receive some type of prize, I’m the one who is slightly embarrassed and just wants to grab my prize and slip away unnoticed.

When I met Hubby Rick, I didn’t consider myself lucky. I felt blessed. When something amazing happens, I tend to attribute it to hard work or sticking with something. I’m not the one raising my hand, wanting to be selected for something. I’m the one quietly trying to avoid being picked.

My friend Pam is about the opposite of me when it comes to these kinds of things. She’s the one jumping up and down, waving her hand and ASKING to be picked. Quietly, I cheer her on and glad that someone near me is drawing the attention away from me, thank the Lord.

Are we lucky when we get a 50 degree day in February in Wisconsin? I call it a wonderful break to winter. Years ago, Rick was driving to work at 3 AM and he ran across a car in the ditch. It was winter and cold. Rick pulled over and stayed with the person until helped arrived. Was the man lucky that Rick happened to be going by right at the time he went into the ditch? I think it was more that Rick was concerned and wanted to make sure the person was all right.

Yes, there are many times we could say something happened because of luck. We can look for four-leafed clovers and make wishes and wait for them to happen. Or, we can appreciate that sometimes, amazing things happen because we live in a world where God wants us to feel blessed.

If you want to chase a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow this summer, go for it! I’ll be the one writing down how I feel blessed every day in a little journal that I keep. When you feel the stars align and something happens that you have been waiting for, celebrate if you wish. In these situations, I try to thank God for the times that God or someone else came into my life at just the right time. When you are convinced that nothing good ever happens for you because you simply have bad luck, I challenge you to remember ALL the great things that have brought you to the point where you are today. I’m sure you can list a whole bunch of really great things that have happened to you.

I actually thank God for not answering every little whim that I would like; for making the blessings sometimes very special in my life, so I can appreciate them. What someone else may describe as bad luck, I see as God knowing better what will be beneficial to me than I am able to anticipate myself. And for this, I am deeply grateful.

At the time of one of my many, many moves in live, that metal Model T piggy bank didn’t make the move. I probably donated it. While I may not have the actual car anymore, I have the memory of this first prize I ever won. My memory tells me that I have been blessed from head to foot countless times … more times that I can count and fully appreciate. I don’t call this luck. I call this love. God’s love.

For a never-ending bounty of love that is more helpful than luck, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Lord God – Rather than always looking for luck from You or someone or someplace else, may I channel my energies towards looking for the love that is all around me in this world. Amen.

If this post touched you, I invite you to share it.