A Spare Bowler

One of the recent topics in my "A Father's Legacy" journal asked the question: How would you finish this sentence? "One thing my dad always said was . . ."

Easy . . . "A spare bowler is your best bowler."

From when I was little, I remember my Dad used to bowl. As a kid, I never understood what that phrase meant. I mean, after all, aren't strikes better than spares? You get higher scores with strikes. They get all the attention.

I don't know when I finally understood. Maybe it was after always leaving so many pins standing. Maybe it was after that ZERO game I bowled? Too bad they didn't have those bumpers back then. I could have used them and saved a ton of humiliation! I finally realized that if you could knock over pins left standing, no matter how divided or spread out... to have that much control over the ball placement, to have it strike in the right spot to knock over all of the remaining pins . . . you were really good! And what a sense of accomplishment to see no pins left standing!

Maybe you could stretch this and apply it to life in some way. To be able to face what life deals to you or the mess you might have made of things, and not give up, no matter how difficult the "split" may be. Maybe you won't get that strike with the first roll. But you get another chance . . . go for it! It feels so good when you stick with it and make it!