The Golf War

It's a war out there. I face the enemies - sand, words, trees, and water - armed with nothing but my driver and a Titleist®. Oh, I have the shoes, the hat, and the glove to back me up, but the big gun I sometimes use is my mind. So I see the swing, feel the swing, be the swing, and attack the fairway. Sometimes I win, most of the time the fairway wins.

Eventually it happens and I beat the fairway - only to do battle with the green. The green uses subtle illusions of light and shade to reshape itself into a different animal. It bends to port while telling me it will bend to starboard. Ah, it is sneaky. It does its best to defeat me, slowing the ball, moving the cup at the last moment, or just collapsing the cup all together. But, I will prevail - no matter how many strokes it takes.

Ah, the golf war is a war I love to play, always lose, and yet always go back. Why would I subject myself to the certainties of humiliation, frustration, and rejection?

Because there is always that one shot that brings me back. It is one shot that brings form and function together in one smooth and graceful motion that produces a professional grade gold shot. It may be a 300-yard drive in the middle of the fairway, a chip shot that lands six inches from the hole, or a 35-foot putt that bends twice and rattles home. That is the shot that keeps bringing me back. That is the shot I remember when I walk into the door at home and the wife asks, "How did it go?" I can answer truthfully, "I had an awesome shot!"

For me, that is how my life with God is. In spite of all my best intentions, He makes everything right - perfect. He sees me as perfect, made perfect by His Son. That is awesome!

How is your golf war going?