As Luck Would Have It

Is there really such a thing as luck or do events happen as naturally as fate or predetermination would have them? It is possible that the two aspects can coexist: the deep belief that God has bestowed upon us free will to choose; and the luck we would seem to possess when we manage to avoid or survive the aftermath of choices gone wrong.

While my family was on a road trip when I was around two years old, I managed to wander onto the middle of a busy, narrow, two-lane rural highway. We were at a rest stop, and my soon-to-be-"ex" nanny was oblivious to my adventurous tendencies when she took her eyes off of me to take in the scenery. My parents were in hysterics when they found me dodging cars as they honked and zoomed by on either side of me. They frantically waved oncoming vehicles to stop or slow down while they rescued me. To this day, my mother considers it a miracle that I came out of that scenario unscathed. Or was I just lucky?

Luck, in its purest form, is chance; nothing intended, but from which a lot may be gained. There is always some sort of benefit to luck or from objects believed to bring about luck. Amulets and charms, although a product of non-Christian origins, are as commonplace (and sometimes essential to everyday living) today as they were in historical times. A popular cereal company has even managed to make it a part of a nutritious breakfast. Whatever form amulets and charms may take, the power we have grown to attach to them can at times raise them to a spiritual level.

Such was the case for the shamrock, a familiar lucky symbol related to what millions of Irish and non-Irish consider to be the luckiest day of the year: St. Patrick's Day. But alas, this symbol for merriment, utter joy, and complete abandonment (not to mention the Christian-sounding holiday it's attributed to) actually had a religious beginning.

Consider this: if a person wins the lottery and uses the winnings to build and manage an orphanage or halfway house or homeless shelter, would it then be an example of this duality that I speak of? Now, there's probably a book out there that offers undeniable proof to there being no science or exactness to the art of random numbers (uh, hence, the term random); that winning the lottery could only be attributed to pure luck. But because the money was used in a charitable manner, how inconceivable would it be to wonder if the win itself was the result of divine intervention?

Of course, this is an exaggerated, pointed example of cause-and-effect. After all, there are a good many of us who would sooner skin our favorite cat than immediately think about charitable donations with our lottery winnings. However, the next time you decide to jump off an airplane only to find out that your parachute wouldn't work, and you pray to the Almighty for some heavenly help on your way down, try not to look past the unpredictable, bounce-back power of simple, pure luck.