It used to take only a ball and a handful of jacks to keep me occupied for hours. I’m sure you remember – the game involves throwing out the jacks on the floor, bouncing the ball one time while you are picking up the number of jacks that you’re “on”. You start out picking up just one, then two, three, etc. . . You could only pick up the correct number each time – without touching any others. If you failed to gather the right amount or if you touched any extra, then, you’d have to start all over again with “onesies.”
The more you played the game – the better you became at it. This reminds me that there are many things that we get better at – if we practice. The more we practice praying aloud, the easier it will be to lead prayer in Bible class. The more we study God’s Word, the easier time we will have “discerning between good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). The more we practice righteousness, the more righteous we become (I John 3:7). We even smile more when we practice smiling!
Do you have something that could use improving? Do you need to study more? pray more? serve others more? Maybe it’s time to throw out the jacks and bounce the ball! God Bless, Courtney