Find Your Game

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, do good

to all people..." - Galatians 6:10

This… is not a golf ball.

I know to most people it is… but to me, there’s a lot more to it.

It’s dirty, as you can see. A little beat up after numerous swings with the 9 iron, and perhaps one too many visits to the sand pit. 

The scratches and dented up sides are perfect examples of just how challenging this game can be - this game we call golf - a baffling game, if you ask me, designed on purpose to test the patience and temper of even the most calm and reserved individual. 

It’s why, for the most part, I avoid it. 

Growing up as an athlete I played nearly every sport available, except this one. My occasional attempts at the game only developed a stronger dislike for the ridiculous task that it is. 

Hit this tiny ball with a bent up stick 300 yards into a hole that’s only slightly bigger than the ball itself.

“Come on!” they always say. “It will be fun!”

It’s NEVER been fun for me. 

But… years later when my 18-year-old son asked me to go to the driving range, I didn’t argue. And that’s where this photo came from, a moment in time I simply didn’t want to forget.

Though imperfect and even frustrating much of the time, this game is loved by my son. He broke my heart when he traded in his cowboy boots for turf shoes - but, his knack for finding new strategies and overall athleticism and physicality make this complicated game the perfect fit for him. It’s been a joy watching him fall in love with something that also pushes him and creates new avenues of true merited success. 

We all need that.

And we all need someone in our life like my son, and someTHING in our life like golf.

These two things require forgiveness, persistence, and stamina (because let’s be honest, keeping up with a teenage boy is EXHAUSTING).

They both also teach you empowering lessons about love and life, and about the intangible blessings of both failure and success as they exist so prominently in every worthwhile endeavor.

I suppose that’s the other reason I said “yes” this day and skipped my way out to the driving range (literally!). I know these lessons are coming to an end, and that it’s imperative I soak in what’s left while it’s still available to me, absorbing the incredible gift of motherhood - both the glorious moments of joy and accomplishment, as well as the dog-gone-it moments when breaking a golf club over your knee seems to be the only satisfactory response.

(Just to be clear, I haven’t actually done that... Yet.)

In fact, I accomplished way more that day than I expected, surprising my son and even myself in what I was actually capable of doing. At 42, I’m still discovering new things about myself, gifts God has blessed me with that have simply sat dormant until now, revealed to me at a time like this, and as I’ve grown and matured through life experiences as only He could orchestrate so brilliantly.

So, my assignment for you today? Stop and take a photo of that golf ball. Say “yes” to the driving range, or whatever it is that brings you an opportunity to spend time with someone impactful, someone you love, someone that makes you better - and embrace a new challenge (most likely presented to you by one of your kids), even if it’s something you normally dread doing.

Even in the resistance - and despite the sandpits and water hazards - you'll be blessed in a way you never expected.

Thank you, Jesus.

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