I get a kick out of the various “”life is like…” quotes. Do you remember what Forest Gump said life is like (or at least what his momma told him life is like)? In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Jack Freed used this quote – “Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes along.” (Samuel Butler)
Whether you think that life is like Gump’s mysterious box of chocolates or like trying to learn the violin while playing in public, both seem to point to the unpredictability of life and the need to learn, or adapt, as we go.
Below are three of the best “Life is like” quotes that I found. Think a bit about each one.
“Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
“Life is like a book. There are good chapters, and there are bad chapters. But when you get to a bad chapter, you don’t stop reading the book! If you do… then you never get to find out what happens next!” – Brian Falkner
“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls…are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.” – James Patterson
Going back to Butler’s quote, I think it is very important that we learn as we go, not only to avoid repeating mistakes, but to grow in intellect and wisdom.
Patterson’s quote in particular helps one put some perspective on the important things in life. Perhaps, as we learn, we will discover that there are other balls in our lives like the rubber ball that Patterson described as work, which we can drop without fear that they will break. Some that we may drop, like prejudices or unfounded fears, we hope will not bounce back, Those balls are better left behind in life.
There is another ball that Patterson didn’t mention, which many keep in the air in their lives – faith. Indeed, even if the other four balls that Patterson identified as important and fragile – family, health, friends and integrity – are somehow shattered in your life, keeping the ball of faith in the air (in your life) is the only ball that will help you bounce back.
Faith is what helps us get through the bad chapters in life that Falkner was alluding to and faith shapes our free will response to life that Nehru was talking about. It is our faith that God is there with us that helps us deal with the problems that come our way and to see and celebrate the good in the situation that God is always putting there for us.
No matter what allegory you may use for life, if you keep faith alive in your life the music that you create as you go through life with be beautiful indeed.
NormsMilfordBlog 
Thanks for your daily writimg, norm