I witnessed something the other day that I had never seen before.  My son, Tyler, was playing a video game.  No, that by itself was not the scene.  I’ve walked in on him playing video games more often than I’d like.  It was how he was playing that was new to me.  He was playing a baseball video game using both controllers.  He would use one controller to make the pitcher throw a pitch and then drop it and scoop up the second controller in a matter of seconds to be able to make the batter hit the pitch he had just thrown.  He was basically controlling the offense and the defense.

“What in the world are you doing?” I asked him.  “I like playing this way,” was the response I got.  “Why?” I asked.  “It’s easier,” Tyler replied.  “Is it more fun?” I pressed.  “No,” he said.  “It’s just easier.”

It was easier, but not as much fun.  I think the same can be said of life.  Just like Tyler wanting to control all aspects of the baseball game, I realized that I sometimes try too hard to control all aspects of my life, even if I know my efforts are fruitless.  I want to know what’s going to happen to me and when, so that I can be sure I’m ready to respond in the appropriate manner.  “Leave nothing to chance” is a popular motto these days.  But where would the fun in that be?

Even if it were possible, living life in this kind of insulated bubble would be miserable to me.  There would be no anticipation.  There would be no surprises.  There would be no adversity from which to learn and become better.  These ingredients are some of the true spices of life.

In his game, Tyler knew whenever the pitcher was throwing a curveball to his batter and how to adjust to hit it.  In the real world, when life throws us a proverbial curveball, typically we’re not ready for it.  But how we react to these unforeseen circumstances helps us grow and defines who we are.

The next time life seems unfair or out of control, I’m going to take a moment to appreciate some of the gifts I normally take for granted.  Anticipation gives us hope that each day could be the day we’ve been waiting for.  Surprises help pull us out of the mundane or any ruts we may be in.  And adversity, if handled correctly, gives us the opportunity to be better people.

There’s nothing wrong with planning and trying to maintain a sense of control or balance on certain areas of our lives (my wife is a conference planner, so I had to add that addendum), but it’s natural for other areas of our lives to be beyond our control.  These areas are what make life exciting and worth living!