Right now I am very frustrated.

I just finished trying to talk with someone in an office. Never got a real live person nor a gentle voice. I listened to all the options offered on their computer telephone. The list was so

long by the time it finished, I had forgotten why I called. So I clicked on the number for dummies, "repeat options." I listened to the list again. By then frustration had so scrambled my memory and I had spent so much time without success, I finally gave up!

After many similar frustrations trying to talk with someone via telephone, I have concluded I can talk with God easier than anyone. Thanks God, you have no computer telephone, answering machine, voice mail, no "please hold" nor call waiting. God Himself is available in person 24/7 everyday.

Though the usual means for us to connect to God is the Bible and

prayer, I just heard of another way when a Bible is not available or forbidden. It was a Sunday morning. A soldier wanted to connect with God. Because he was serving duty in a country where Bibles were forbidden, he had to be innovative, and was he ever. Man, I was impressed. I share it because I believe you will be also.

He took out an old deck of cards. Laying them out across his bunk, he put them to a new use — a holy use. When the sergeant asked what he was doing, the young soldier replied, "I am talking with the Lord by studying this deck of cards.

"The ACE reminds me there is only one God.

"The TWO represents the two parts of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments.

"The THREE represents the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

"The FOUR stands for the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

"The FIVE is for the five virgins. There were 10 but only five of them got in.

"The SIX is for the six days it took God to create the heavens and the earth.

"The SEVEN is the day God rested after making all creation.

"The EIGHT stands for the family of Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives — the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the earth.

"The NINE is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleaned 10 but nine never thanked Him.

"The TEN represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.

"The JACK is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of hell.

"The QUEEN stands for the Virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus after He was conceived by the Holy Ghost.

"The KING stands for Jesus, my Lord and Savior, who is the King of all kings.

"When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.

"There is a total of 52 cards in a deck; each one stands for one of the 52 weeks in a year.

"Each suit has exactly thirteen cards — there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

Then the soldier said to his sergeant, "See, when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and it reminds me of all for which I have to be thankful."

Every gift God gives us, we may use either for good or for evil. A deck of cards is no exception. The most profitable use you can make of a deck of cards is to learn from the young soldier ... USE A DECK OF CARDS TO TALK TO GOD!!!!!!!

(Dr. French O'Shields is a Gaffney native and a retired Presbyterian minister.)