What I Learned from Pinochle

We saw the forecast but forged ahead anyway with our weekend camping plans.  Rain, rain, rain!  With our fellow campers we hunkered inside our RV's, got out a couple decks of cards and polished up our very rusty Pinochle skills.  It's a game played partner-style, and so the men vs. women challenge was on.  I found myself tuning in and out of attentiveness, not deliberately, but in the usual way that my mind seems to function these days.  Despite my lapses, our team pulled off two wins out of the four we played.  Evened up, it ruined anyone's opportunity to gloat!  Later, I pondered a few of the lessons I have learned from Pinochle:

• A strong hand can support the weaker one;
• Sometimes it pays to take a risk;
• Cards that don't help you will probably benefit someone else;
• For best possible results, you must play the right card at the right time;
• If you don't look carefully, you can miss something important;
• The most skilled play won't win without the right cards;
• When you have the cards that count, victory is assured;
• The help you need doesn't always materialize;
• It can take a few good hands to get out of the hole;
• The highest trump card always wins;
• When your hand appears bleak, unexpected help can surface;
• There's always hope for better cards in the next deal.

I'm sure you card players can think of many more life analogies.  You win a few, you lose a few.  You try again, you carry on.  We strive to do our best with the cards we are dealt. 

There is also a Trump Card always available to use:

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble."  ~ Psalm 46:1

I am learning to pull it out much more often than I used to.  After all, it can't help unless I lay it on the table.

On to the next round!