As a DM, one of my challenges is to get the players to follow the plot that I had planned. I plan monsters for them to fight, treasure for them to find, people for them to help, and experiences for them to have, but none of that planning does any good if the players don't fight those monsters, find that treasure, help those people, or have those experiences. The game takes initiative on their part (no pun intended), and they need to know how to take a hint.
Of course, I can't be too hard on them for not picking up on obvious plot threads. After all, I didn't.
Last Saturday, I went to my local comic book shop to participate in some foam sword fighting outside and to hang out with my brother and a friend of mine, but I didn't do hardly any of those things. I participated in a few practice fights, then got intimidated by the other fighters' skill, and chose to just watch after that. My brother joined in the fighting, and I watched him for a while, but then I went inside to hang out with my friend. Unfortunately, my friend couldn't stay long because he had to go help his grandmother move some boxes. It wasn't until I was already on my way home that I realized that I should have volunteered to help him. My "How can I help?" reflex must be very rusty from disuse.
I didn't fight with foam swords. I didn't do any service. I didn't do much of anything.
God gives us plenty of opportunities to have fun experiences, to learn, and to do good. Yet, all the opportunities in the world won't do us any good if we don't take advantage of them. We have to actually go and have those experiences, learn those lessons, and do some good, or all of that planning on God's part will be wasted.
I don't want to waste God's planning time, and I don't want to miss out on the experiences He has planned for me. Last Saturday could have been a lot of fun, if I had followed the plot hooks that God so obviously laid out for me. Next time, I'm going to try not to drop them.
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