Do you ever feel like the one that stuff always happens to? Yeah, me too.

I have never won anything, except for that Daughters of the American Revolution Poster contest when I was in elementary school. I had worked so hard on that poster with paper poppies and construction paper cutouts. The speaker in my class was broken so I did not hear the announcement. Weeks later my cousin mentioned he had heard I won the contest. I went to the office and by then, they had lost my candy prize, or eaten it, I can’t be sure. I remember it all so vividly. I think it scarred me for life. It started a long line of stuff happening to me.

On my first day of junior high school, I lost my lunch tickets. So not only did I not have class with any of my friends, but I had to go hungry all day. After school I could not wait to get to my dad’s truck to get away from that terrible day. I ran down the hill in front of the school, fell into the ditch by Dad’s truck, in front of God and everybody, and skinned my knees and elbows and my pride. I am still carrying those scars.

Then on my way to work on the very first day of my very first job at Sears on Haywood Road in Greenville, I stopped to get gas. The gas nozzle went berserk and sprayed all over my clothes and hair. I did not have time to go home to change and bathe so I had to buy clothes at the mall to change into and wash off the best I could in the restroom sink. I went to work looking great but smelling like gasoline. I still giggle about that one. My career was off to a lovely start that day.

Even now I am the one that stuff still happens to. I am a regular Lucille Ball. Like every time I fly, I have to step aside and they completely empty my carry-on luggage, or dust my fingers for plastic explosives, or send a female officer to pat me down, or x-ray my shoes three times. I guess they must think that I am hiding a terrorist under my Suzie Homemaker disguise.

There is a lot of talk about Irish luck around St. Patrick’s Day. From my stories above, one might gather that all I have is bad luck. While the timing of these particular days in my life stands out; in looking back, they were really not that bad. I have had much worse days with cancer, surgeries, losing my parents, being a victim of embezzlement, etc., etc.

For these bad days, God has blessed me with many more good days. The truth is that I may have a bad day every now and then, but it does not mean that I have a bad life.

I do not believe in luck. Just look at the rabbit’s foot. You cannot say that it was very lucky for that particular rabbit. The Bible says, “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11

Good luck may not be on my side, but I know that God is. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in His grace. The good things that happen to us are truly blessings from God, not luck. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17.

God has a reason for the difficult things that happen to us. Maybe they are learning and growth opportunities, or maybe they are meant to humble us. Maybe they are just good stories that we can use as an opener for telling someone about the saving grace of Jesus. One thing is certain. When life tries to overwhelm us, God’s grace is always there to pick us up.

Prayer from Saint Patrick:

Dear Lord:

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me; God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me, God’s hosts to save me afar and anear, alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today against wounding. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me. I arise today through the mighty strength of the Lord of Creation. Amen

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

Do you have stories to share about how stuff always seems to happen to you too? We would love for you to share your experiences and comments and how God has helped you to get through difficult situations.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May God richly bless you and your family with His amazing grace, His perfect timing and His bountiful favor.