Day 16

As a kid I always loved playing M.A.S.H. with my friends...especially during class when we were supposed to be paying attention! You know, the old game of mansion, apartment, shack, or house, who you'd marry, where you would honeymoon, how many kids you'd have, the vehicle you'd drive, and so on. Our very own magic ball so to speak. Oh, if the results of that silly game could have been anywhere near the truth!

Of course, it was easily manipulated. It's all in how many, how small or large, and the spacing of those concentric circles you draw that will define your destiny. How great would it be if your actual life could be as easily manipulated? Here are your top 3 choices: you'll be happy with any of them of course. The only undesirable outcome is living in a shack I suppose :)

My fill in the blank responses of long ago were normally whatever was trendy at the time or whoever I was currently crushing on. Things haven't changed all that much. Well, of course now I know that it is wiser to hope for a house, not a mansion (lots of square footage is expensive) and that a gas guzzling SUV isn't the wisest move especially with kids...a minivan would be a better choice (but who wants to put that on a wish list?)! Then you have to take into account that although filling a home with lots of children would be a blessing they have to be fed, clothed, and shipped off to school at some point. Unless you win the lottery or they are all similar in skill to Michael Phelps, Mia Hamm, or Albert Einstein they will have to barely squeak by attending a state school. You'll have to tightly budget, remove vacations from your vocabulary, and learn to love Ramen noodles :)

I think a more appropriate game for young people to play would be: WISH. Wise. Intelligent. Strong. Honorable. = all things we should hope to be! I know a game is just that, a game. However, when you look at life as being as easy as which choice gets circled you tend to think that life will be that easy. What no one tells you is that there are an infinite number of choices, mistakes, realities, opportunities, let-downs, and blessings. They make up life. The life we are given is ours to mold and live on our own. It is what we make of it, how we serve the Lord, and the chances we choose to take that define us...not where we live, what car we drive, how many kids we have, or where we go on our honeymoon!

God Bless,
Tammy