Life is a lot like bowling

Do you like to bowl? I have rarely ever bowled, yet as a little girl, I was in the bowling alley a lot. My dad bowled in a men’s league, and both of my parents bowled together in a mixed league. In addition to this, my dad would hit the lanes on his own, as he prepared to go professional. (His dreams were crushed by a finger injury.) As my parents bowled, I was usually seated in the little bar/food area with my favorite candy at the time -- Sno-Caps. (I think I liked them mainly because the box had the word “nonpareils” on it and that seemed so fancy to me. I thought I was so sophisticated eating them.) I want to share what I learned during my years sitting in a bowling alley.

1. You have to practice to be good.

2. Sometimes, you are going to have more splits than strikes.

3. On really bad days, you can’t keep your bowling ball out of the gutter.

4. You have to stay focused and not let the surrounding noise distract you.

5. You can look forward to receiving a little sweetness in life.

Life is a bit like bowling.

1. In our walk of faith, we have to practice if we want to grow in our faith. We practice through prayer, reading scripture, attending worship, and doing good works.

2. Sometimes in life things don’t go as planned, and we may have to do a bit more work to stay connected to God.

3. There will be times that no matter how hard we try, bad things are going to happen to us, and only by the grace of God are we lifted out of the gutter. 

4. We have to stay focused on God and not let the surrounding noise from the world distract us.

5. We can look forward to receiving the sweetness of life - God’s love, mercy and salvation.

“But he said, ‘Happy rather are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’”  Luke 11:28