Life issues everyone a hand from the same deck of cards. Each game is different because after shuffling the cards every set dealt is different. But we all get an opportunity to play a winning hand every now and then regardless of what it looks like. Where am I going with this? I can remember getting together with friends in college and playing several card games of Spades on the weekends. It was an affair that could lead late into the night because of the competitive nature of some of the players. Folks would get so rowdy! It was fun to see people talk smack and slap their cards down on the table while music was playing in the back ground. The sheer passion of it all was engaging and entertaining. I knew how to play the game because I had grown up watching my dad, brothers, aunts and uncles play the game. However, I was just "ok" at it. So in college, I was always compelled to watch versus play. But somehow, I always got sucked into playing. Sometimes not playing is worse than losing. I mean the fear of losing or lack of confidence in your ability to win, would get snuffed out by those that were really advanced in playing the game. There would be times, I would get dealt a hand that I didn't like at all! The odds seem tilted against me! I am talking at first glance, nothing over a 10, a sea of red or God forbid those awful powerless clubs! (My spades guru's want to bust out a deck right now, don't you?-LOL). I found that it is great to have the Jokers, Ace, King, Queen, and Jack of spades (The highest value cards in a game of Spades). However, if that is all you have, your luck can run out fast. See, its not necessarily what hand your dealt but how you play the hand your dealt that matters. Spades is all about strategy. Play the right card at the right time and you will win that round, set, and maybe the game. A 2 of spade is still more powerful than 39 other cards in the deck. I won more games with mediocre hands than I did otherwise! Friends this is how it is in life. At first glance, it feels like the hand we were dealt absolutely sucks! Whether it is the lack of generational wealth in your family, sociological family issues that looked bleak, maybe you were diagnosed with ADD, or genetic blood disorder like Sickle Cell Anemia, it all can feel like a losing hand at any given time. I want you to remember that even if you feel like your life is a 2 of spade, it still holds more power than you think. Just take the cards that you have been dealt, and play to win.
