"A Deck of Cards"
This is a story about a soldier boy and a deck of
cards. During the North African
campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike and they arrived to a
little town.
The next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went
to church. A Sergeant commanded the
boys in church and after the chaplain had read the prayer, the text was taken
up next. All the boys who had a prayer
book took them out except this boy that took out a pack of cards and spread
them out.
The sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier put
those cards away!!!"
After the service was over, the soldier was taken
prisoner and brought before the Provost Marshall. The Marshall asked why he was
brought and the sergeant replied... "For playing with cards in church, and
what do you have to say for yourself, son?"
"Not much Sir!" replied the soldier.
The Marshall said, "I hope not, for if not I shall
punish you more severely than any man."
The soldier replied, "Sir, I have been on a march
for six days, and I have neither a Bible or a prayer book, but I hope I will
satisfy you with the purity of my intentions."
With that, the boy started his story.....
"Sir, you see, when I took an Ace, it reminds me
that there is one God. And the 2
reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts... the old and the new
testaments. And when I see 3, I think of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When
I see 4, I think of the 4 evangelists who preached the gospel. That was
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And when I see 5, it reminds me of the 5 wise
virgins who trimmed their lamps. There were ten of them, five were wise, and
saved, and five were foolish and shut out.
And when I see 6, it reminds me that God created this
heaven and earth in six days. When I
see 7, it reminds me that on the seventh day, God rested. When I see 8, I think
of the eight righteous persons God saved when He destroyed earth. There was Noah, his wife, their three sons
and their three wives.
And when I see 9, I think of the lepers that Jesus
cleansed and nine out of ten didn't return to thank Him. And when I see 10, I
thought of the ten commandments that God handed to Moses.
When I see the King, it reminds me that there is but
one King, Jesus. When I see the queen, I think of the blessed Virgin. And the
jack, is the devil.
When I count the number of spots on the deck of cards,
I find 365... the
Number of days in a year; 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year; 4 suits, the number of weeks in a
month; 12 picture cards, the number of
months in a year; 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.
So you see sir, my pack of cards serve me as a bible,
prayer book and Almanac!!!"
Author Unknown
Dated: Sometime during WWII