Dominoes & The Game of Life

Setting up the Sequence

We all like to be able to see where we are going. We want to know, before we start, how we will get there.

But do we really know? Can we really see how we will get to where ever we are going?

Our family has a tradition of playing dominoes when ever we are together. Recently, we had a very unusual night of dominoes.

The game of dominoes is played by playing your tiles on various “trains.” The goal is to be the first to play all of your tiles and to go “out.”

On the first hand I didn’t have the right tile to start my train. And without that starter tile I could not develop any sequence of tiles. The sequence is important because that represents a series of safe plays. I had no safe series. All I could do is play whatever tile I could on whenever I could as I had the opportunity. So on each turn, I played the tile that was a right play that turn. And I kept playing. And I kept being able to play again. And low-and-behold, I went out.

To go from not having a starting tile to being the first one out was attributed to lucky breaks and taking advantage by proper play. It is also VERY rare to not have a beginning sequence to being the first out.

The second hand started in the same way. I had no starting tile. All I could do is play each turn with the tiles I had.

So that’s what I did. I played each tile and each time it was my turn, I had another play I could make with the tiles I had. So I kept playing and yet again I was the winner of the hand. Amazing! Unbelievable!

So the tiles were shuffled and I drew out my third set. The opening tile was laid and I realized again that I didn’t have that one so I could not create any sequence to plan my play. But, again, whenever it was my turn, I always seemed to be able to put a tile down.

For the third time in a row, I went out before anyone else. For three hands in a row, the player who looked least likely to win actually won. How could that be?!

The explanation I like was that it was a “God thing.”

I believe that God was showing me that even if I can not see how I’m going to “play my hand,” God knows how He will use me and get His will done. I believe that God was showing me that He really was in charge of everything – even tiles in a game of dominoes.