What Are the Chances?

After removing the contact from my eye, I reached one-handed for the contact case.   My right contact was carefully balanced on my right forefinger as I carefully extended my left hand…..but not carefully enough.   I watched in one-eyed dismay—the contact was still in my left eye so I was able to see if perfectly though monocularly—as the contact case lid bounced from the cupboard onto the sink and from the sink onto the toilet seat and from the toilet seat into the toilet bowel.   Dismay turned to horror as I saw it settle in yellow-tinted water atop a brown “log”.
 
“What are the chances?” I moaned inwardly.  
 
Seriously, what are the chances?!!??!?!    What are the chances that the contact case lid would make not one, not two but three bounces that culminated in its entrance into a round bowl, not more than a foot in diameter?    If I had intentionally tried a three- bounce maneuver to get the contact lid into the toilet, I’d have never in a million years have made it.   Heck, if I tried to toss the lid into the toilet—forget the bounces—my chances of making it were slim at best.   
 
And what are the chances that the toilet lid was open at the time?   It often isn’t….
 
And what are the chances that the toilet was not flushed at the time?   It often is…..  (usually, in fact!)
 
And, honestly, what are the chances that all three conditions happened simultaneously, at the same time that I inadvertently bumped the lid of my contact case from its resident shelf in the bathroom vanity?  Chances of that happening are not good…..
 
The experience got me thinking about chances….specifically about MY chances….
 
What are the chances that I would be born in a free country?

• 18.7% of the world’s population is Chinese; 4.3% live in the U.S.A.  (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/)

 
What are the chances that I would be born in an economically developed country?

• 17.9% of the world’s population lives in India.  (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/)

 
What are the chances that I would live through the first five years of my life? 

•  In 2015, the under-five mortality rate in low-income countries was 76 deaths per 1000 live births – about 11 times the average rate in high-income countries (7 deaths per 1000 live births). (http://www.who.int/gho/child_health/mortality/mortality_under_five_text/en/)

 
What are the chances that I would be taught to read?

• In 2010, 61 million primary-aged school children were not enrolled in school; 47% of those children never will enroll.   In 2012 31 million primary-school aged children dropped out of school and another 32 million had to repeat a grade.  (https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-around-world)

 
What are the chances I would be able to roam mountains, explore valleys, and raft rivers?

• India has a population density of 1,156 people/square mile; China 381 people/square mile; USA 92 people/square mile.  (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/)

 
What are the chances that I would live a childhood free of abuse?

• In the US, 1 in 5 girls are sexually abused. https://victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/child-sexual-abuse-statistics)

 
What are the chances that I would be a healthy (relatively!) adult?

• 11% of Americans have heart disease and  an average of 420 in  every 100,000 were diagnosed with cancer in 2012.  One in ten people have diabetes.  (http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/stats/)

 
What are the chances that I would be born in a home where I would be taught about my Savior?

• Only 31.5% of the world is Christian (http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/)

 
And, honestly, what are the chances of all those things—freedom, education, health, economic prosperity, sexual safety, environmental availability, Christianity—happening simultaneously to me?    Chances of that happening are not good….
 
The chances of that happening are not good but the chances that happened to me are.  In fact, my chances are more than good.    The chances that happened to me—MY CHANCES—are glorious.  They are wonderful; they are amazing; they are miraculous.   I thank my God for my chances.    Thank you, dear and glorious Father in Heaven, for my chances.  And please, dear God, help me share the blessings of the chances Thou gavest me with others.
 
I’ll take my chances….any day!
 
Love,
Teresa

---

What are the chances I will have the economic and political freedom to visit amazing natural places? AND to have amazing natural places to visit?

What are the chances I will get a bonus daughter from Sweden?

What are the chances my children will be healthy?

.....and happy?

What are the chances my daughter will be able to have a lamb?

What are the chances that my children will learn how to work?

What are the chances that Tanah will get her driver's license? (!!!)

What are the chances that I will live close enough to my sweet sister to be able to visit occasionally?

What are the chances that my Air Force brother will spend two weeks visiting me and charming my family?

What are the chances that Tanah's name will appear on the marquee?

I'll take my chances....and thank my God for them!!