Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Seeking God With Your Next Move
Have you ever played the board game Sorry? In case you’re not familiar, here’s a quick overview. Each player gets four pawns. They are all placed on the player’s own “start” position. The object is to be the first player to get all four pawns to their “home” position. Throughout the game you draw cards. You need certain cards to even move out of your starting position. Then the cards will tell you how many spots you can move on the board or if you’re eligible for any other type of moves (such as switching places with an opponent). A lot of it is luck. But some strategy and ruthlessness are involved as well. The name of the game – Sorry – is derived from the fact that at times you might tell your opponent you are sorry as you bump him back to “start.”
My husband and I were playing this game recently. It was my turn and I drew a 7 card. With this particular card, you can choose to either move one pawn seven spaces. Or you can split it up between two pawns (3 and 4, 6 and 1, etc). One of my pawns was very close to my “safe zone.” Each player has a “safe zone” on route to their “home.” The other players can’t touch you there, meaning they can’t bump you back to start. So I was going to move that pawn the seven spaces to get it into the safe zone.
My husband disagreed with this plan of action. One of his pawns was sitting nearby the same pawn of mine that I planned to move. He felt I should split the seven moves between two pawns, and move the one pawn in question just enough spaces to make it land where his pawn was. This would force his pawn to go back to “start.”
As you can see, my husband and I have two different thought processes when playing this game. My husband prefers the more assertive route, bumping other players out of the way. I, on the other hand, would rather play it safe.
This made me think about my life, where I often play it safe there as well. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a good thing. If we are going to make any progress in life, we need a bit of grit. If we want to see our dreams come to pass, we have to take chances. If we want to walk on water, we need to get out of the boat. If we want to win the game, we have to take a shot.
Take some time to think about the next move in your life. Is God calling you to step out of your comfort zone? Pray boldly and courageously. Then take a step of faith and make your next move.
Bridget A. Thomas 