GAME OF LIFE

           * THE GAME OF LIFE

      Life is a game of basketball.
      You start by sitting at the bench
      To patiently await your turn;
      You watch and pray and cheer and learn.

      Sometimes you see the odds are wrong;
      One team is taller than its foe,
      Or faster or more fully trained,
      But none the less the game is played.

      Sometimes the referee is blind.
      He fails to see anomalies
      Committed right before his eyes,
      Because the action is so fast.

      At last the coach will let you play;
      You join the team inside the court.
      With all your might you play the game;
      You pass, you dribble and you shoot.

      And when you shoot sometimes you miss
      But then you have to try again,
      Or give your mate a good assist,
      To score a sudden undergoal.

      You have a choice inside the court
      To play alone or with the team;
      But soon you realize that you
      Need them as much as they need you.

      If you commit too many fouls
      The referee will throw you out.
      If you are reckless in the fray
      They'll lift your injured body out.

      The constant winner in the game
      Of basketball is Father Time.
      When His almighty whistle blows
      All players stop, and fade away.

                 **************
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs
3:6).  As we journey through life sometimes the odds against us are great,
and yet the Lord wants us to continue trusting Him and allowing Him to
direct our lives. It's not a perfect world -- we hit some, and we miss some
-- but in the GAME OF LIFE God has given us each other so we can assist one
another in love. He has given us the gift of time to use as best we can and
play the game according to His rules. And when the final score is written
and our time to leave the court of life has come, in victory He wants to
bring us with Him. For "God has made everything beautiful in His time." **