May 17th, 2020: Thoughts on Golfing

 Golfing | Visit Southeast Montana

One of the businesses that have been allowed to reopen in Canada is golfing. Personally, golfing had been one of the vehicles that God has been using to keep me humble.  Usually, people play sports so that they can feel relax and let go of some of the stress. I have seen the opposites as I watched how some golfers dealing with the game. Let me be honest, I am not anywhere close to being called a golfer. Most of the time I play because they are fundraising events for various charities. However, there are indeed many lessons we can learn about life from golfing.

THE DRIVE:  this is a long-distance shot and usually taken from the tee. It is important to start a game with a decently long and accurate drive. You can advance your game. We have different reasons for different drives in life. One will take us somewhere he would like to be usually based on an accurate understanding of ourselves and our capabilities. Some golfers can drive with amazing distance but horrid direction. That is one way to screw up the game. Well, the same thing can also be said about human life. Power without wisdom is a dangerous game to play.

THE PUTT: this is opposite from the drive. It is a short distance shot on the green. Putting demands great care and some serious study of the green in order to determine where your shot should go. Putting is the shot that usually comes with high drama in golf. The more steady the player is, the better he or she can perform. Although it is a short distance shot and yet, sometimes it takes the longest time. Putting is like making good and discerning daily decisions of life that will end up determining its values and meaning. People are usually remembered by how they "putt" through life with joy, generosity, helpfulness...

In golf, we might not be able to drive the longest drive but we can still putt to glory if we are steady. There are other shots in golf (lay-up, chip, pun, shot...) but I would like to focus on these two because of their parallel meanings in life. We might want to take a look at what drives our life or how we are being driven by my own sense of greatness. We might also want to take a look at how we make choices and decisions daily and their impacts on the whole picture of life.

1 Corinthians 15:58
"Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more