Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)

I feel like I have been playing lots of games lately.

Games with our finances, making all of the right moves to extend our money and purchasing power as far as it will go. Scheduling life so that money at least will potentially continue to flow in. (That’s pretty much up to God for us, though…)

Games with our church… trying to fit in, playing by the rules, bending the rules, back and forth, give and take…

Playing games with friends, family… not so much me playing the games, more like watching close friends and family play various roles or games with us or each other or their own families. Relationships are a prime playground for games…

Games with my schedule. Trying to balance this and that… pretending I can do everything I have scheduled.

Games with religion… which rules does God want us to keep, and which are just rules that we have imposed on ourselves, that only restrict us from the life to the full that Jesus wants for us. Still trying to figure out what sin really is, and how we treat “sinners” (as far as participation in our Christian games… worship, and other christian service…)

And in the middle of all that… I lost myself in a moment with my amazing little girl. She just smiled the most pure smile of “I-Love-Dad” that I have seen… and reached tenderly to touch my face that was 6 inches from hers.

And that’s when I realized…. THAT is life. Not any of the stuff I had been preoccupying my brain with. Not any of the stuff I have spent 20 hours a day working on this week.

Life is the love of my daughter. Life is the laugh of my son. Life is the precious moments of seeing the hearts of my kids. Life is a moment of nothingness with my wife and best friend of 14 years. (Wife of about 7… best friend of about 14…) 🙂

The games take front stage for a majority of our time… but perhaps we can learn from the glimpses of real life we get every so often?

I’m going to try.