Have You Caught The Wordle Craze?
In January I started to notice that my Facebook feed was filled with posts that had images of green, yellow and white squares with something like Wordle 250 4/6 written over the top. After a few days, curiosity got the better of me – I wanted to know what it was all about. And now, like many others, I find myself trying to solve the daily word in as few guesses as possible. My personal record, (AKA a fluke) was 2/6 but more often than not it takes me about 4 guesses. There is definitely something about Wordle that draws me (and indeed millions around the world) in.
For those not in the know, Wordle is a daily word game that gives you six guesses to identify a five letter word. You begin by entering any five letter word you like, and are given a series of yellow, green and grey squares to help guide you to the answer for the day. Any letters that you have guessed correctly (and put in the exact right place) will display as green, while those that are in the word but you have in the wrong place will show as yellow, and the ones that do not appear in the word at all will be greyed out. And from here you continue, hoping to identify it before your six tries run out.
As everyone around the world is engaging with the same Wordle puzzle each day, and has the opportunity to post to social media once complete, Wordle seems to build an online community that could be described as supportive, competitive or an opportunity to boast – depending on your perspective!
I began to wonder what might happen if it were Jesus who was planning the word to be guessed each day. Perhaps he would use it as an opportunity to remind us of his presence in our lives and to prompt and encourage us to live life to the full in his presence. Words like HEART, LOVED, GRACE, FAITH and MERCY come to mind. Or SHARE, THANK, RISEN, TRUTH and PRAYS.
Perhaps while enjoying a daily dose of Wordle, we can be reminded and encouraged that JESUS wants to connect with us every day as well – and that he will bring us far greater joy than the buzz succeeding at Wordle brings.
Mel Edwards
