A perfect game in bowling is a score of 300 - twelve strikes in a row. Though an amazing accomplishment, perfect games are not that rare. At bowling alleys throughout the United States, around 300 perfect games are rolled on any given night.
The true holy grail for bowling is a perfect series - three perfect games in a row, 36 straight strikes.
Only 21 bowlers in histoiy have achieved such a feat.
On January 18, 2010, a bowler from Plano, Texas, Bill Fong, was on his way to becoming number 22.
Bill rolled two perfect games in a row. He continued to be perfect through the first seven frames of his third game when suddenly he didn’t feel well.
He began to sweat profusely and felt nauseous.
Chalking it up to nerves, he kept playing.
By the last frame, Bill was one strike away from bowling immortality.
When he threw the ball it felt good. Nine pins went down immediately. The tenth rocked back and forth for what seemed to be an eternity but never fell.
The energy drained from the room. Though two perfect games in a row and an 899 series was an accomplishment for the ages, the disappointment of being just one pin away from perfection was palpable.
Bill returned home dejected and feeling sick. He stayed in bed for a couple of days, struggling with what seemed to be the flu.
He then returned to work and his life as normal. A few weeks later, however, Bill had a stroke.
Scans revealed that weeks earlier he had suffered a minor stroke.
Eveiyone soon realized that it happened on the night of his 899 series. As he discussed both strokes with Bill, the doctor made a shocking statement.
“If you had made that perfect series,” he told him, “you would be dead right now.”
The excitement and adrenaline that would have resulted from the celebration would have turned his minor stroke into a major stroke. It turns out that missing that final pin saved Bill Fong’s life.
All of us suffer disappointments in our lives.
We lose the big game.
We get passed over for a promotion. A girlfriend or boyfriend breaks our hearts.
When disappointments come, however, when tragedy strikes, when your life doesn’t work out the way you want it to, remember Bill Fong.
You see, God had plans for Bill. In Jeremiah 29, God says, “I know the plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
The problem is that God’s plans are not always our plans. The problem is that we can’t always see God’s plans. What we fail to understand is that if we had ended up with that boyfriend or girlfriend, we would have had all kinds of problems. If you hadn’t got that flat tire, you may have gotten caught in a pileup on the freeway. We can’t see all the what-ifs in our lives.
But God can.
Our God sees and knows everything. He loves you more than you can ever imagine.
He loved you so much, he gave up his Son to live and die for you so you could live with him forever in heaven. He has plans for you, and those plans are for your good, even when you can’t see or understand how.
Just ask Bill Fong.
Pastor Andrew Schroer has been a pastor for over 25 years and is currently serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Edna, Texas. You can find his latest books, “364 Days of Thanksgiving’' and “364 Days of Devotion , ” on Amazon .com.
