Satan's Lair and Country Club

I recently returned from a three day golf trip with a major epiphany. Simply stated, one should not invest three days endeavoring to hit a tiny white ball with the broad face of a titanium club head when one does not have the faculties to line up said ball with said club face. Perhaps this goes without saying but those of us who suck at golf should either go gently into that good night or get lessons…anyone know any real patient teachers?

I do not tell this story so that I may be ridiculed for my lack of golfing skill, I share it to illustrate a point that recently came to me while wondering why anyone would subject themselves to the utter exhaustion that comes from posting a modest 136 on the course I affectionately dubbed Satan's Lair and Country Club.

The point I am trying to make is this…golf is a wonderfully awkward metaphor for life.

For some of us, golf comes easy, the shots may not be perfect but each and every swing of the club progresses the ball further down the fairway. When the last hole is played, the score is low and the golfer, for the most part, is content. Then you have those of us who struggle with golf and swing twice as many times for half the result. The course is long and no matter how many times the club is swung, you wonder if you will ever finish. Both the good and bad golfer have achieved the same result, it has just taken the bad golfer twice the energy and twice the score for the same result.

Many times life reflects the bad golfer scenario. No matter how hard we make a specific task, others will breeze through it with half the effort and achieve the same result. Perhaps not all of us are bad golfers but I surmise that at some point in your life you have faced a stumbling block that seemed insurmountable; a moment of uncertainty, not knowing how the situation should be played or if you could even attempt the task. I believe these situations to be the turning point of life, the moment when our Creator looks down, questioning our resolve, and wondering how we will play the hole.

My best friend once told me that in life he wanted to struggle so that he may fully enjoy the comfort of stability. In terms of golf, he couldn't be further from the truth, however, in terms of life, he is spot on. It is in our struggles that we find our passion, our resolve, and our direction. Just a thought.