“I’m master of the skis!”

A highlight of the week for me so far has been watching my daughter tackle the task of learning to ski. We are on spring break and had decided it was a great time to finally take on this challenge. But in fact, she has made it a delight…. Focus like I’ve never seen, pride at her own accomplishment, and excitement to try again. The stuff dreams are made of for a mom!

My own skiing experiences may have colored my expectations a bit. I learned to ski on the very hill I watched my daughter glide down yesterday. There were four of us in my family we were all learning at the same time. My mom
would point us at a tree, we would ski across the slope and hug the pine when we got to it and then move aside so our next sibling could join us at the tree.

On one of these criss-cross attempts my skis got tangled and I ended up in the snow. A ski came off and continued my journey down the ski hill without me. Not sure what to do, I sat there for a moment; and then, before I could say anything, a kind man came along, scooped me up onto his shoulders, and took me down to where my lost ski was. Since then, this has been my definition of a knight in shining armor. No horse for me…. Just strong arms and a pair of skis.

I’ve skied in many places since that first time… and though I love the scenery, I could do without the freezing cold toes and sore muscles. I am not a dare-devil… and it takes me a while to gather my self-confidence when I get back on skis. But as I was reminded yesterday, both by my own enjoyment of being out on the slopes and by watching my daughter practice her “pizza wedge” stops… Skiing is a unique experience which can be shared with friends and
family.

And while I may never be master of the skis…. I certainly have  conquered hot chocolate in the lodge.

“What do you think the third disaster will be?”

I love the saying, the elephant in the room…. That big something that everyone is thinking but no one is saying. And, while my quote is listed as an overhear, in actuality it was never said out loud. Still…. The thought was so
present it practically echoed around the room. After two pieces of very bad luck on the journey, we all were wondering what would happen next to our friends.

Luck, like fate, is a very difficult concept for me. On the one hand, I think it is lovely to imagine that someone is actually managing the mayhem that I sometimes feel in my life. On the other hand, I dread the idea that someone has the ability to choose the bad and good things that happen to me and the ones I love. I realize I can’t have it both ways, so mostly I try not to think about it.

Until something bad happens…. Or, more relevantly, two bad things happen. Because then it is impossible not to contemplate the idea that bad things happen in threes.  

There have been times in my life when I have, by necessity, had to question this idea of control. It reaches into the very depths of my psyche and even my relationship with God. If I believe in free will, which I do, then how do I find purpose and meaning in the good and bad things that happen to me.

It is far easier to say, when something bad happens, it was God’s will; or to imagine that by the bad occurrence something even worse was avoided. There was a great TV show five or so years ago that was based on this idea. Joan of Archadia, followed the multiple quests or assignments asked of her by God (in the vise of regular people she would bump into in her daily life). I loved what she learned in the process of doing her tasks. But even more, I liked that idea that God had everything under control, even if it was a control we didn’t necessarily understand.

Though I like this idea, I can’t really stand by it however. Do I want to live a life where I am a piece on a game board, or do I want to have the chance to grow and change based on the decisions I make. Perhaps the two things aren’t mutually exclusive, but I am still grappling with where they intersect.  Another movie to tackle this question was The
Adjustment Bureau. Angels nudged decisions when the intersection I just mentioned would have really thrown the world off course. 
 
Whoa… so now not only is God manipulating things, but so are the angels who interpret and carry out his orders; we all know how that would go. Even with the best, holy intentions actions can be misdirected. As this occurs in the movie we see that life is messy, even in a pseudo controlled way.

This then is I think the bottom line. Life is messy. It isn’t supposed to be free of stress and problems and bad luck. I have come to believe it is how I react to the things that happen to me, be they good or bad, that gives my life
meaning. And ultimately, this is why I think bad luck comes in threes; because today, as we wait and search for that other shoe to fall, I, not God, may send my ski boot flying through the air with one of the decisions I make. 
 
Have I just tempted fate? Perhaps, but at least then we will all be able to finally breathe a sigh of relief that the last, in our set of three, troubles are over… until the next time.