Surviving the Pinball Machine Days

A Reflection from Melinda’s Visual Arts

I was browsing through my shop the other day, just checking on things, when I stopped at one of my quilts — the zebra quilt created entirely from my original painting. Every brushstroke, every stripe, and every bit of the background came from the canvas I painted by hand. Seeing it transformed into a quilt — softened, stitched, and full of texture — made something inside me pause.

Because lately, life hasn’t felt soft or stitched together. It has felt more like a pinball machine.

Some days, I feel like I’m being launched from one thing to the next — ricocheting off responsibilities, emotions, and unexpected problems. Lights flashing, alarms ringing, no time to breathe. I don’t get to choose the direction; I just react, brace myself, and hope I don’t crack under the impact.

If you’ve ever felt that way, you’re not alone.

But as I stared at that zebra quilt, something shifted in me. Because a quilt is the opposite of a pinball machine.

A pinball machine is loud, jarring, and unpredictable. A quilt is quiet, steady, and comforting. One throws you around. The other wraps around you.

And yet… both tell the truth about life.

The Zigzag Path We Don’t Choose

Zebras don’t walk in straight lines. They zig and zag. They adjust constantly to survive.

Their stripes create the illusion of movement — like they’re always shifting, always adapting, always ready for the next turn. When I painted them, I didn’t realize how much their movement mirrored my own life. But seeing them on a quilt — softened, stitched, and held together — made the message clearer.

The zigzag doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re surviving.

When “Tomorrow” Turns into the Next Day

Every time I’ve felt like a pinball, I’ve still managed to get things done — sometimes more than I ever believed I could. And yes, there are days when something I planned gets pushed to “tomorrow,” and that tomorrow quietly turns into the next day.

Not because I procrastinate, but because more pressing responsibilities jump in front of what I intended to do.

Life has a way of rearranging my priorities without asking permission.

But then there are other surprising days when I manage to accomplish everything I planned, even while being bounced around in the pinball machine of life.

I may not have moved in a straight line, but I moved. I may not have felt steady, but I kept going. And somehow, God helped me get exactly where I needed to be.

God in the Ricochet

When life starts slamming me around, I ask God to calm me. Not to remove every obstacle. Not to stop the motion. Just to steady my heart so I don’t fall apart in the middle of it.

And He does.

Sometimes He calms the storm. Sometimes He calms me in the storm. And sometimes He reminds me — through something as simple as a quilt — that He is sewing together pieces I can’t see yet.

This zebra quilt, made entirely from my painting, carries the heart of that truth. The stripes, the movement, the survival, and the beauty are all transformed into something warm and comforting. Something that wraps around you instead of knocking you around.

It’s a picture of what God does with my life. I paint in pieces. I live in pieces. I survive in pieces. But He sews it all together.

More Accomplished Than You Realize

When you’re in the pinball machine, you don’t feel productive. You feel frantic. You feel behind. You feel like you’re failing at everything.

But when you step back, you see the truth: You accomplished more than you thought. You survived more than you realized. You kept going when you didn’t think you could.

Just like the zebras that zigzag, you are adjusting, surviving, and making it through another day. And that is worth celebrating.

Wrapped, Not Wrecked

So, if today feels like a pinball machine, remember this:

You are not hopeless, even when life hits you from every angle like you’re trapped inside a pinball machine. You are the one still standing inside the chaos. You are not the noise or the flashing lights. You are the one God is steadying with His hand on your heart. You are not the ricochet or the wild motion. You are the quilt He is stitching together piece by piece — held, shaped, and made whole even while everything around you feels out of control.

And even when life throws you in every direction, God wraps you in comfort, strength, and purpose, just like a quilt created from something beautiful.