Together...We Win

    The other day, I was out in the backyard of our home working. As I was finishing up, I thought I'd take a break and play a little game. Earlier, my son had left the bag toss game out with all of the bags. If you're unfamiliar, it's the game played with rectangular 2x4 ft. boxes with a 6 inch hole near one end and placed down at an angle several feet away from each other. The object of the game is to get the bags into the hole by tossing them from the location of the opposite box.

   I began throwing bags when my 3-year-old, Abby,saw what I was doing and ran over with the desire to play as well. Apparently, she had watched us enough to know how to play because she demanded all the blue-colored bags. With them in hand, she ran over to the other boxes and proceeded (to the best of her ability) to throw them over to the box near me.  She dumped the bags down on the board and picked up one. With all of her might, she wound up like a big-league pitcher and launched the bag in my direction. It traveled about a 1/3 of the way. A pretty-good feat for a 3-yr-old, but far from enough to make it the distance needed. Undeterred, she picked up another and went through a similar ritual with basically the same results. She then did something I wasn't expecting...
  She stopped, looked up and waited for me to take my turn. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about tossing one over that she didn't see in enough time to get out of the way of...so I was very cautious. The first bag landed right in front of the box and was leaning against it. Without a word, Abby ran to the bag; picked it up, and then proceeded to drop it in the hole. My next bag landed on the top of the board (1 point if you know the rules). This didn't stop her. she picked that bag up and through it in the hole as well. She continued to do this until all of my bags were in the hole.
  In that moment, I smiled thinking to myself how cute she was. And then I realized what she was actually doing. You see, she didn't have the strength or ability to get the bag in the hole, but she wasn't going to let that defeat her. Instead, she partnered with me (someone who was able to accomplish the task) so that we could both win the game. And may I add, she was a great helper.  
   This reminded me of the character of God. While He could accomplish every task that He desires on earth without our help, He still asks His children to join Him in doing the work. Therefore, we are successful and accomplish more when we join with God rather than try and rely only on our own power. 
   This begs the question, what are you working at these days that unless God helps, there's no way you can accomplish it? What dreams are you dreaming about your career, church, family, and/or future that without God's help there's no way it would happen? Are you too easily satisfied with only what you can win at on your own, or do you long for something greater?
   It's true, we can be more successful when we work together. But it's also true that we can do the unimaginable when we join God in His work. The results and rewards are eternal.