You Never Know

            My husband and I are Scrabble players. The board comes out, the tiles quickly line up on our holders, and the game is on. Some people say they’d never even think of playing with my hubby. A journalist by training, an editor by experience, now a teacher of English and always a voracious reader, he’s a daunting opponent.

            But I’m not intimidated, and I haven’t been for a long time because you never know.

I hate keeping score when it comes to games, so my opponent does. As the board fills up, I often think that I’m not doing well—too many three- or four -letter words. I’m certain my husband has left me in the dust, doomed to defeat. At the end of the game with even an unusable letter left to be deducted from my score, I’m shocked to learn I’ve won the game. My score raced upward as I placed the short words on squares where my points doubled or tripled.

            At other times I’m sure of a great victory. My words are long, impressive. I use the dictionary, confident that I’m zipping ahead. Even the dreaded “Q” is successfully integrated onto the board. Smugly I know the game is in my pocket only to learn that my opponent won that one after all as he took advantage of doubles and triples that had eluded me during that game.

            So when it comes to Scrabble, my husband can’t rest on his degree or experience or vast reading experience. I can’t count on my determination to rack up doubles and triples. You never know how it’s going to end.

            This week was rather like our Scrabble games. The dishwasher broke. My car needed $709 worth of repairs. Pastor emailed on Wednesday morning asking if I’d lead prayer meeting that night. (I struggle to do that when I have a month’s notice.) A friend shared with us that his cancer is back.

It was almost like a daunting E, I, E, I, O, A, U on my Scrabble lineup. But you never know how things are going to turn out. Instead of going down to defeat, I’m looking for some doubles and triples here. The dishes aren’t piling up—I have a dependable dishwasher (the hands at the ends of my arms) and a dish dryer (my Scrabble opponent). Somehow my car will be paid for (with some help from a rebate, which always helps). Prayer meeting was a great time with my brothers and sisters, even as I led from the back of a thank-you-note bookmark I grabbed out of a book I had in my work lunch basket. And I don’t know how things will work out for our friend, but they will—they will because God will not fail him.

            Although I know a little about the outcome of some of the things this week, I don’t know all about them. I’m waiting for the final tally, and whereas I often lose in Scrabble, I know I am on the eternal winning side where God makes all grace abound for his children for their every good. And that I do know.