Life Lessons on the Golf Course (04/10/2025)

Yesterday, as I was taking a break on the porch, a group of high school golfers were playing on the 8th hole of the golf course which is adjacent to my home. One of the young men’s balls landed in my yard. When I heard the “plop,” I knew it was an errant ball. And I knew exactly how it got there. And suddenly I and my mind traveled back in time to the Elk Point Golf Course and my father teaching me to golf.

First, you must understand that my father loved God, his family, and golf. Second, you need to understand that my dad had a way of “connecting the dots.” In my dad’s mind, we have one life and all the elements are connected – the spiritual to the physical.

Dad taught me about identifying my destination – where was I ultimately headed. “Don’t look at other things because they will distract you. You will hit your ball to the last thing you looked at because that is where you have oriented yourself. Just look at where you want to go, keep your eye on your destination.” As I heard Dad’s words in my memory, I smiled. That’s how that high schooler hit his ball in my yard – he was distracted by my house.

“Golfing is like living. We need to stay focused on where we want to be and not let other things distract or disorient us,” Dad told me. As I remembered my dad’s words, I thought of multiple times I’d strayed from his excellent advice and proven him right. Our world is full of distractions – physical, material, emotional. If my destination is life in abundance with the LORD, to be home again in the presence of my LORD, I need to stay focused on that and with every “stroke” of my life, aim to move closer. I also know that I need the guidance of one who cares about my journey and my getting to my destination – the Holy Spirit.

Don’t you love life and how it unfolds slowly and how the simple things in life that might seem to be a coincidence are really providential? As I sat on my porch, watching the teens play golf, recalling my father’s lessons, I recognized that I’ve been “distracted” lately. “Keep your eye on your destination,” I heard again. And I smiled, realizing my destination isn’t a place with a longitude and latitude but a Person – my LORD. The LORD does write straight with crooked lines.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.