For those of us who live in Bella Vista, table games are a huge part of our daily life.

Before I retired from The Weekly Vista I typed in the "Cards and Games" section each week and it usually included about 10 or more groups that played bridge, pinochle, dominoes, Euchre, cribbage and canasta. Of those, only dominoes did not involve cards.

In addition to the groups that sent in their weekly results, there are an amazing number of others that play games just for fun. Some play weekly, some play monthly, and I am sure there are those who play games almost every day or so with several different groups. What a great way for those who might live alone or are no longer able to participate in active sports like tennis, golf or bowling to be able to compete with friends.

I once had a friend tell me that playing games with others was the best way to get to know someone. When you sit down at a table together you can tell what kind of a day they are having. Are they happy, are they sad, are they angry, are they pensive? And what an opportunity to share with a friend your understanding, your support, your willingness to listen to what they have to say. As I typed in the names of the weekly winners, I often saw the same names appear over and over again. I thought how wonderful for those game players to be able to get out and enjoy interacting with others who were now friends because they gather at the same table over and over again. It may be their only chance to get out and have fun.

Because so many of these games involve the use of cards, I thought it would be interesting to find out a bit about the history of cards. It appears decks of playing cards come from China early in the 12th century. They may have existed in Persia and throughout the Arabian peninsula as early as the 700s. What was a total surprise to me was that from the very beginning the decks consisted of 52 cards with four suits of 13 cards each. They had numbers from one to 10 and the top three were royalty. Sound familiar?

The original symbols for each suit were Chalices, Swords, Coins and Pole Sticks. As cards migrated across Europe, these symbols remained on cards used in Spain, the Iberian peninsula and Italy. The Germans simplified them a bit when they changed them to hearts, acorns, bells and leaves. It was the French card makers who developed the suits we know today, clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. This was done because they were easier to reproduce. By the late 1400s card shops began to appear everywhere.

Cards originally were painted with full length drawings of the kings, queens and knaves, which eventually became the jacks, and it wasn't until around 1745 that a card company in Agen, France, created a new reversible design that could be used upside down or right side up. The French authorities prohibited their production, but they were eagerly embraced everywhere else, and as early as 1800 some decks being produced in America incorporated this design feature. It took years before the card identification began to appear on the corner of the card so that you could identify your cards without having to look at the whole picture.

In early games, the king had the highest value, but with time special significance began to be placed on the lowest card, the one or ace. This grew in popularity to the point where the ace of spades became the most valuable card in the deck. The joker began to appear in the mid 19th century when a wild card was needed to win all the tricks and since it can be any card, depending on the trick, it remains undefined in appearance. Not all jokers have a similar design.

Playing cards entered America through the Colonies and the countless immigrants arriving on our shores. As the population moved west, card playing became commonplace in bars and saloons. How many times have we seen poker players on the movie screen or heard song lyrics referring to the game?

Granted, most of this column is about cards, but any table game can be an opportunity for getting to know others, and if we want to build relationships, what a wonderful way to start.

I wonder how often God looks down on groups of His people and smiles when they share Christian values and love each other as they love themselves. Each player comes from their own background, their own church and their own experience within His world, but as we chat over a card game, what a fun way to share His message about how He has helped us and what He can mean to each of us.

Wishing you a winning hand and a life of blessings for being a friend in His name.

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Jan Burgess moved to Bella Vista in 1995. She considers each day a gift -- although some are more fun to open than others. The opinions expressed are those of the author.