That's How It Is

Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That's how it always is with God.

Ecclesiastes 3:15 The Message

I've never been very good at chess.  My father loves the game.  I remember him trying to teach me to play.  It wasn't the variety of moves each piece made that was difficult for me.  It was the planning - the strategy.  I could never wrap my head around the if's.  If my opponent does this, then....  The problem was not the next move - it was the one five moves and ten moves into the future.  Even writing about it draws a picture in my brain of possibilities branching out to infinity.  The point of the game, apparently, is to narrow the choices of the opponent so they are forced to move into a checkmate.

My husband and I met at a bar.  His sister was the manager, so he filled in as bartender.  I went because of the karaoke.  We got to know each other over the pool table.  My husband happens to be one of those people who can do the same things over and over in the exact same way, which, combined with his ability to see angles on the table, made him an excellent player.  I used to watch him run the table from break to banking the eight at the finish.  It was actually a joy to see him play against other good players - they each stepped up their games in order to win, and some of the shots made were amazing.  He was a good player.  I wasn't so much.  It used to frustrate him to play against me.  I didn't make the expected moves against him.  The balls ended up lying in more difficult positions because I was pretty much inept at getting them to go in the pockets.  Not on purpose.  The problem for my husband was that I was only playing offense; my only goal was to get my balls in the pocket.  I didn't try to make it hard for him to make his shots, but because I wasn't very skilled, his choices ended up being difficult.  He had to step up his game to play against me.  No matter the opponent, his game improved.

I believe that God has a strategy.  A plan that takes into account the infinite number of possible moves - yet guides and directs so that in the end it doesn't matter the route, we will find ourselves in the same place.  Like chess, he will use our moves in combination with His, to carry His plan forward.  Like my husband, we become better players - no matter the level of practice.  Nothing can separate us from His plan and His love. It started when He spoke over the waters; it was carried forward through the sacrifice of His Son, it lives today in forgiveness, grace, and the hope of a new world.  God's plan for us always was, is, and will always be...  It is the perfect love story.  That's how it is with God.

Thank you, God, for your love.  No matter who we are, or what we do, you always love us.