It's a Cinch By the Inch

Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I see the size of a challenge looming before me.

I remember being in Denver with Jen a few years ago & looking out the windows of a hotel-top restaurant. Off in the distance, we could see the Rocky Mountains skirting the edge of the city. They seemed surreal, but their magnitude was obvious and undeniable.

In the same way, the challenges I face often seem to lurk just outside the limits of my ability, staring down at me with an I-dare-you-to-try-and-defeat-me posture. In those moments, I am all too keenly aware of my humanity with all of its faults and flaws, weaknesses and failures.

But somewhere along the line of life, someone asked me one of the 5 most-important questions I've ever been asked: "How do you eat an elephant?"

The simplicity of the answer is eclipsed only by the depth of its truth: "One bite at a time."

I didn't see that coming!

This truth has helped me keep my sanity & fight off discouragement during those difficult seasons of life. It has provided me with some perspective that has brought the majestic mountains of challenge down to a manageable size... Every great journey is conquered one step at a time!

I can take the next step... In fact, the next step is the only one I can take. And once I've taken it, the sting of intimidation is replaced by the soothing sense of satisfaction, which has--as an added bonus--the infusing energy of hunger to take the next step. And the cycle repeats.

The next thing I know, I'm well on my way to accomplishing something that seemed impossible before I took that first step.

So, instead of focusing on the daunting challenge, I just focus on the next step... & it's a cinch by the inch!

The Gambler

When I was a kid, there was this song by country-music legend Kenny Rogers called "The Gambler." The song is a story about a late-night train ride where a down-on-his-luck traveler encounters a career gambler who deals advice like he would a new deck of cards.

The oft-repeated chorus encapsulates his poker-based ideology:

You got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run

You never count your money
While you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done

For just a few minutes, let's set aside the undeniable truth that only Kenny Rogers could pull off a song like this... And then let me share with you the amazing truth I see in the old-man's half-drunk diatribe.

It seems to me that success--in life, in ministry, in business... wherever--is not the avoidance of challenges and setbacks, but rather the wise navigation through the troubled waters that are both inherent and inevitable.

Truly... The game of life must be played with the hand we've been dealt. More often than not, the hand we get is less than desirable. It does no good to wish for another, better hand when the one we've got is staring us in the face. Only a fool would do so. Another hand will surely come once this one has played out, unless the holder gets up from the table.

Interestingly, it's not really the cards themselves that determine whether or not the hand is a good one... It is how we play the hand we're holding.

The wonderful thing about poker (if you will excuse my almost-sinful analogy) is that a hand of cards with absolutely no power or potential in and of themselves can bring down even the most-powerful hand of an opponent if it is played correctly.

The same is true in life, and therein lies the wonderful thing about it: it ain't what you play, it's how you play it. From beginning to end, one hand at a time, one card at a time, until the game is over.

I can almost hear that old gambler now, "You've got to play the hand you've been dealt."

How true.