Do you remember the Game of Life?

I used to play it a lot when I was young.  I used to love choosing my little plastic car and filling it with little pink and blue stick people.  As a little girl, it was exciting to me the prospect that life would eventually offer all of these choices and decisions.  At the same time, it was challenging for me to wrap my brain around the idea that – one day – my little car could be sitting on the complete opposite side of the board from people who started with me on the very same little square.  My life wasn’t yet in a place where decisions led us in different directions.

Decades later, I see the parallels of it all.  The winding roads…the rolls of the dice…the victories to be had.  And that’s so great!  To know that every day, we are open new to changes…to new surprises…to new people.

Sadly though, there are times when I feel like it’s still all just a game…

A lot has happened and changed for me over the last two months.  And for all of the triumphs, achievements and blessings that this time has offered…it hasn’t always been easy.  Much to my (perhaps naive) surprise…I’ve often felt surrounded by little plastic cars just trying to get a few squares ahead.  There have been people hoping that I’ll make a bad move…people hoping that I miss a turn.  There have been people hoping that my little car will hit a ditch just so that they can drive by and witness the twisted wreckage.

Thankfully, those that love me and support me and encourage me far outweigh those that don’t.  But nonetheless, the idea that we’re all just seven years old and trying to get ahead makes my heart hurt.

And I’m willing to bet that I’m not alone in this.

I’m willing to bet that there are many people out there who feel like the pursuit of their happiness has become a war to be waged.  Even worst, maybe they feel like a pawn in someone else’s game…a game you didn’t even know you were playing.  Maybe you’re just moving around the board trying to see the sights…while someone sitting across from you is creating a strategy in hopes of leaving you in their wake.

Sometimes I just want to be in a room with those people – face to face.  I want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them into oblivion.  And I want to tell them to stop wasting their time.  Stop wasting their time doubting me…judging me…or wishing failure upon me.  Because the harsh truth is…they don’t really know me.

They have no idea how hard I’ve worked…the road I’ve traveled…the challenges I’ve faced.  They have no idea what obstacles I’ve overcome…what demons I’ve fought…what mountains I’ve climbed.  They have no idea what it’s taken me to get here; to this place…at this time…to become this person.  I may not see the world from space…I may not save lives…I may not run a country.  But I’m still in this…just like you.  I’m still trekking along with my little plastic car hoping not to come across a landslide.  And thanks to an immensely kind God…I’ve got a few people to ride along with me.

Honestly though, what I really want to do is just bang their heads together and remind them in that in life – in actual life – no one else needs to lose in order for you to win.

Life…is not a game.  You don’t need to chase me down so that you can get ahead.  You don’t need to passively sit back and wait for your moment to triumph either.  Because we’re not moving around a board with a maximum of eight players ages twelve and up.  This is life.  Real life.  We don’t all have to pack it in when someone reaches the finish line.  We all get to move along at our own pace…making our own decisions…and there’s enough ‘chance cards’ in the pile for all of us.  My victory doesn’t mean your loss.  Your achievement doesn’t mean my failure.  So instead of spending your time trying to run me off the road…you could spend your time deciding where YOU want to go.  And better yet…how you’re going to get there.

Because for all of the discrepancies that game may have…one thing is for certain; there is an end.  It doesn’t go on forever.  We will all reach that final square where the board runs out.  Do you want to get to that point with a car full of cute little stick people…or do you want to get there with a banged up vehicle from too many collisions along the way?

I can’t make that choice for  you.

But I can blissfully kiss my children goodnight…I can admire the sun rise…I can laugh with my husband until my stomach hurts.  And I can experience this life as it’s happening, while doing my very best with the gift that God has given me…

And I can do it all regardless of how reckless you are in traffic.