So when I’m not with my family, I turn on the notifications for the Scrabble-esque game, Words With Friends. The little ding that rings when someone plays sends a fission (11 points minimum, but I’d never use it in a real game—talk about poor ‘s’ management…) of happiness down my spine. Ding! Who’s playing, and what evil have they done? Most importantly, how can I thwart them?
I work out of my home, and I have a motley collection of about 5 virtual cube mates who play with me throughout the day—what a quirky bunch they are too. I can waste a few minutes playing some words and smack texting with them while waiting for my video projects to encode or while cranking out a 50-disk order.
Last May, I began playing Words with Friends as a way to stay in better touch with my two nieces. I think I knew from the start that I had found the game for me. After losing a game or two to my college-aged niece, Jackie, I dedicated myself to learning all those annoying 2 and 3 letter bridging words. Who knew OHO was a word? Who knew that ‘gee’ could be preceded by an O to make ‘ogee’? (Don’t get too excited. No more of my WWF secrets will be revealed here.) It was a rough start. I lost a lot of games as I learned many of the cheapo words and figured out how to craft my own cheapo words. My own husband played his crazy, fabricated “jezail” on me twice—though I think we all can guess who’s been “jezailed” the most in our long-standing series. Now, nine months later, I am rarely beaten. In fact, I get cranky if my win board is below 80%. (I know--my WWF head is huge. I apologize—I really do have a purpose for this blog.)
It’s all relatively harmless, but sometimes it is important to examine the medium with which you’ve chosen to fill the cracks in your life. You know, the cracks—how you decompress, unwind, relax, let the “crazy” out, how you deal with problems, or how you avoid doing stuff.
Some of you know that I am a major insomniac-Type A+-work-a-holic-introverted-except-in-writing-ultra-competitive-compulsive-type. Do I really need to play WWF at midnight, 2:30 am, 4:30 am, or whenever I wake up and can’t go back to sleep? Do I need to pull over and play, because I know I have the perfect word set up on someone? Do I need to play while on the magic carpet skiing conveyor belt at Buck Hill (darn snow kept fogging up my screen) just because I had a few moments of downtime in between teaching my kids how to ski? I know you are rolling your eyes, laughing, and pointing at the crazy lady. Hey, I’m honest about my addictions. Can you be as open about yours? Each of our gifts and strengths can be used in a purposeful or purposeless way. Are you using your talents for the Dark Side or for the Light? In life, my laser beam like focus helps me excel at my many commitments. I will work tirelessly and tenaciously until a task is not only complete but executed with excellence. The question is, do I always select worthy goals? Into what am I pouring my life?
One day, I had a big smile on my face, and my daughter turned to me and said, “Mommy, you just played a huge word on someone, didn’t you?” Yup, I had (124 points with ‘interns’ on a triple, triple, all 7 letters nestled in perfectly next to my friend Michelle’s wicked play of ‘cirque’). But, every once in awhile, we must examine for what we are reaching. Is the flag really worthy? Is it important to be “crazy good” at Words with Friends? Is that what I want my kids to see when they see me smirking?
I am a perfectionist. I strive to be the absolute best at whatever I do. If I run by myself, even just to train, I run to set a new record and believe it is possible every single time. I expect it of myself. I aim to reach the top even if it is painful or difficult. I get super sick every time I run over 5 miles, but I still do it over and over again, because I see it as an unfortunate but necessary part of the journey to achieving my goals. It’s how I develop mental toughness (the husband would just probably just subtract the “toughness” label and tell me to keep the ‘mental’).
I am going to give up Words with Friends for Lent (February 22nd to April 7th). I am not Catholic, but I like Lent, because it is a time of reflection, a time to give up something, a time to remember the Lord’s sacrifice. It’s a time to restore balance and perspective. What do you use to fill in the cracks in your life? What strongholds do you need to storm? We all have our can o’ crazy spackle for patching the holes in our lives. Maybe now is the time to replace it with something meant to last—something to which Jesus is calling you to if you’d just stop self-medicating with time wasters. Our spackle is weak and temporary. His is permanent.
I challenge all of you to use the impending Lenten season to capture an important flag in your life. We all have a flag—fluttering just out of reach. Isn’t it time, we set out on the path leading to it, rather than pretending it doesn’t exist? In my heart, I know exactly where and what my flag is. I've just chosen to deafen myself to its call by filling my mind with other things.
During my hiatus from WWF, I plan to study my Scrabble Dictionary (kidding, I don’t own one…yet)…and my Bible, of course. ☺
Am I going to play Words with Friends again, after Lent? Yes, but hopefully not as a crazy person but as a balanced person who enjoys an occasional word game with friends.
To all my competitors and future competitors: take the next 46 days to brush up on your skills. I will be back. See you on April 6th at midnight.
Just kidding…maybe.
(Clearly, the Lord has much work to do in my life—I’d like to give him at least 46 days to start the process.)
