BLINDS: 1,000/2,000
IN THE POCKET: J-J
We won a few pots, thanks to good cards and an occasional bluff. But the cards have grown steadily worse as the blinds have gone up. Now we're at 8,000 chips, with the blinds about to go up again. We see this pair, and don't have to think very long about them.
"Let's go for it," we say as the full stack comes out. Six players are at the table. Most fold - but a man to our immediate right thinks it over, and decides to try. He shows A-2. We feel hopeful.
ON THE FLOP: K-2-2
Aw, c'mon! The Ace is supposed to do us in - yet his deuce has brought two more! But if a Jack comes....
ON THE TURN: A
A full house for him! All we can do is drop our jaw and laugh. But we're overlooking something. A Jack could still come to our rescue.
ON THE RIVER: A
A two-way full house! We shake our head, and shake his hand.
"I think they say that's not a boat - that's a yacht," the dealer comments.
Indeed. We made the right move, but at a terrible time. It sends us home in 12th place.
MINISTRY MOMENT: We took a packet of salt for our card protector, and reminded a man to our left about how we're to be "the salt of the earth."
"Do you believe in Jesus? Is He your Savior?" The man indicated his answer was yes.
"What's Jesus done for you lately?" Then came a long pause - so long we thought e hadn't heard us. But an answer came.
"He's sustained me today, as I'm living without my mother."
Thoughtful words, these. God is more than our Father and Lord - He is a sustainer. What does that mean?
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. - Psalm 55:22
Our dictionary defines "sustain" essentially as keeping things going: "To keep in existence; maintain; prolong." God provides parents to give children many things - such as food, clothing and shelter during youth. But from birth through adulthood, God can keep you going through the challenges and trials of life.
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. - Isaiah 46:4
It is ultimately God who gives us life. And His support for us can be more than physical:
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.... - Isaiah 50:4
God's Word as expressed in the Bible can give us hope for the future - even beyond this wearisome life. It is the hope of eternal life, for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. That's far more "sustaining" than constants re-buys into a poker game.
UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 162 final tables in 446 games (36.3%) - 26 cashes.
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