JUST AS I was beginning to master my blog, WordPress changed the format and introduced blocks that were supposed to enhance my posts.  I am a simple person.  I do not like fancy bits and pieces.  Even now as I write, flashing bits and pieces pop up and drop off leaving me quite bemused.  It reminds me of the card game I play, called Frustration.

Frustration is a simple game that does not require a lot of skill.  Just a fairly active brain that can follow a few steps to keep ahead of one’s competitors.  The 21 steps include having sets of three or four cards of the same number, runs of three, four or up to nine and 11, and pairs that cannot be added onto.  Quite simple really.  Simple if one knows how to play, and how to outwit those competitors.

Life’s rather like that.  Frustrating at times, until one learns the rules and lives within the guidelines.  It can be enjoyable – until the rules are changed, and particularly when they are changed without any discussion or choice.  Thankfully, just as I was about to throw in the towel with this blogging business, I read an email from WordPress – as well as a myriad of comments from equally unhappy customers about the crazy new format with blocks – and I felt a lot less frustrated.  I wasn’t alone with my frustration!  I always feel better when I’m not the only one battling with new technology; I am the first person to blame when I can’t grasp what I think I should know!  But this time it’s not me.

Back to life and the card game, Frustration.  In the card game we do not always get the cards we need to complete a hand.  So too in life: some would say that we sometimes get a raw deal, and often we blame God for the tough times that come our way.  However, it’s not always his fault.  And when life’s going well, do we thank him for the good times – or completely forget he exists?

With this new WordPress program, with the card game Frustration, and with life – we can regain our equilibrium as we approach each new set of circumstances with a determination to make the most of it and, particularly in life’s challenges, with the knowledge that our God is with us.  He assures us that underneath are his everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27); he shelters us in the shadow of his wings (Psalms 36:7); and he invites us to cast all our cares upon him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).