I once heard a story about Napoleon Bonaparte. Whether it is true or not, I do not know. In any event, he was supposedly looking for a new general to replace one that had faltered. A certain individual was highly recommended to him for the position. After hearing out the glowing recommendation, Napoleon responded to the recommender by saying, “I know the man is a good general; but is he lucky?”
After a day like today, I do not know if I am lucky or not!
It all started out early this morning when I went out on my daily walk, only to have a black cat run across the road right in front of me. I immediately realized that it was the 7th of September, the beginning of a week leading up to Friday, the 13th. What is more, summer has now come and gone; and I have not found one single four-leaf clover all season!
To make matters worse, I have not seen my rabbit’s foot for at least a decade or more, let alone carried it with me in my pocket! And then it hit me. I’ve never even won the lottery! Talk about a steak of bad luck! It looks like I'm the living embodiment of bad luck!
Of course, this could be due to certain facts. To begin with, I don’t buy lottery tickets (which I must confess that I consider a voluntary tax on stupid people). If I don't buy them, how can i expect to win? Moreover, I have not bothered to look for my lost rabbit’s foot in decades, let alone carry it. How can it then possibly help me? Nor have I looked for a four-leaf clover in years.
Statistically, Friday the 13th rolls around about twice a year; and it has never really bothered me all that much when it has done so before.
And as far as the black cat goes; it belongs to my neighbor. I see it often out on my walks either in or near the road. For whatever reason, it darted across the road in front of me today. But it is likely that if I startle it again tomorrow, it will do much the same.
Am I unlucky? Who knows!
Now, fast forward two hours. After my walk, I rushed in and changed clothes before my wife and I headed off to our grandson’s fall baseball game. Not sure which of the five fields he was playing on, I decided to park in the east parking lot. Turns out, I should have parked in the west lot!
As we were trudging our way past two empty ball fields to the field where he was playing, I was continuing to bemoan my streak of bad luck in having chosen the wrong parking lot; when lo and behold, I looked down and there was a twenty dollar bill!
As not another human being was within two hundred yards, I snatched it up, put it in my wallet, and totally reexamined my string of misfortune! It turns out that “Ol’ Lady Luck” wasn’t necessarily frowning on me after all.
Am I lucky? Who knows!
But this much I do know. About twenty minutes after the cat ran across the road in front of me, my phone rang. It was a retired pastor who is a dear friend of mine, but whom I had not talked to in about a year. He was just calling to catch up on things.
We chatted for about twenty minutes before concluding that we were both very blessed to have been given what all we had been given by God. After all, we had both been given our lives, our health, our salvation, our wives, our children, our grandchildren, and our various places, our various churches, and our various people to serve.
As I hung up the phone, I realized that Napoleon may have considered it more important to be lucky than to be good; but for my part, I consider it far more important to see one’s self as blessed than to think of one’s self as either good or lucky!
At the conclusion of the resounding U.S. victory at the World War Two Battle of Midway, Admiral Chester Nimitz asked a subordinate officer, “Were we better than the Japanese, or just luckier?”
There are those who would like to think of themselves as somehow better. There are those who would like to think of themselves as somehow luckier. I’ll settle for being one of those who chooses to see themselves simply as blessed by a loving God!
I leave you with the words of the Psalmist of old, who penned these words in the 103rd Psalm (verse 1-5) millennia ago:
"Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things."
Am I blessed? Absolutely!
And like the Psalmist, I will be careful to testify to this fact at each and every opportunity!
SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/nlt/psalms/103.htm.
After a day like today, I do not know if I am lucky or not!
It all started out early this morning when I went out on my daily walk, only to have a black cat run across the road right in front of me. I immediately realized that it was the 7th of September, the beginning of a week leading up to Friday, the 13th. What is more, summer has now come and gone; and I have not found one single four-leaf clover all season!
To make matters worse, I have not seen my rabbit’s foot for at least a decade or more, let alone carried it with me in my pocket! And then it hit me. I’ve never even won the lottery! Talk about a steak of bad luck! It looks like I'm the living embodiment of bad luck!
Of course, this could be due to certain facts. To begin with, I don’t buy lottery tickets (which I must confess that I consider a voluntary tax on stupid people). If I don't buy them, how can i expect to win? Moreover, I have not bothered to look for my lost rabbit’s foot in decades, let alone carry it. How can it then possibly help me? Nor have I looked for a four-leaf clover in years.
Statistically, Friday the 13th rolls around about twice a year; and it has never really bothered me all that much when it has done so before.
And as far as the black cat goes; it belongs to my neighbor. I see it often out on my walks either in or near the road. For whatever reason, it darted across the road in front of me today. But it is likely that if I startle it again tomorrow, it will do much the same.
Am I unlucky? Who knows!
Now, fast forward two hours. After my walk, I rushed in and changed clothes before my wife and I headed off to our grandson’s fall baseball game. Not sure which of the five fields he was playing on, I decided to park in the east parking lot. Turns out, I should have parked in the west lot!
As we were trudging our way past two empty ball fields to the field where he was playing, I was continuing to bemoan my streak of bad luck in having chosen the wrong parking lot; when lo and behold, I looked down and there was a twenty dollar bill!
As not another human being was within two hundred yards, I snatched it up, put it in my wallet, and totally reexamined my string of misfortune! It turns out that “Ol’ Lady Luck” wasn’t necessarily frowning on me after all.
Am I lucky? Who knows!
But this much I do know. About twenty minutes after the cat ran across the road in front of me, my phone rang. It was a retired pastor who is a dear friend of mine, but whom I had not talked to in about a year. He was just calling to catch up on things.
We chatted for about twenty minutes before concluding that we were both very blessed to have been given what all we had been given by God. After all, we had both been given our lives, our health, our salvation, our wives, our children, our grandchildren, and our various places, our various churches, and our various people to serve.
As I hung up the phone, I realized that Napoleon may have considered it more important to be lucky than to be good; but for my part, I consider it far more important to see one’s self as blessed than to think of one’s self as either good or lucky!
At the conclusion of the resounding U.S. victory at the World War Two Battle of Midway, Admiral Chester Nimitz asked a subordinate officer, “Were we better than the Japanese, or just luckier?”
There are those who would like to think of themselves as somehow better. There are those who would like to think of themselves as somehow luckier. I’ll settle for being one of those who chooses to see themselves simply as blessed by a loving God!
I leave you with the words of the Psalmist of old, who penned these words in the 103rd Psalm (verse 1-5) millennia ago:
"Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things."
Am I blessed? Absolutely!
And like the Psalmist, I will be careful to testify to this fact at each and every opportunity!
SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/nlt/psalms/103.htm.