I have started to play golf again in recent weeks. It has been a solid 4 years since I have played and this time is very different – I am actually keeping score! When I played several years ago, I always kept score by how many balls I lost and how many I found. If I finished a round with more balls than I started with, then I won. If I finished with less, then it was not a good round. So this time I am keeping score on the score card.
I have often heard people say the golf is relaxing. I have also heard just as many people say that this game adds more stress into their lives. The other day when I started, I was stressed out. It did add more anxiety into my life. I was thinking, “Why in the word am I doing this?” Also, “why am I paying somebody to add this much stress?” I could not hit the ball if my life depended on it. I even lost a ball on the first tee! Then I learned something about this game. I needed to relax! I need to force myself to relax! I needed to have patience. The funny thing is when I forced myself to relax; I started to hit the ball further and straighter. I started to have fun. The amazing thing is that others around me started to have fun too. My stress of the game effected others who I was golfing with not to have as much fun.
In the bible Jesus asks the question, “Can anybody add one moment to his life-span by worrying?” (Matthew 6: 27 HCSB). This passage goes on to say that seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness then He will provide for our needs. If we stop worrying and relax, seeking the Master, then we can start to hit the balls of life straighter and further. Then, we can really start to have fun and enjoy this journey of life that the Lord has placed us.
