Yesterday I got to do something I haven’t had the chance to do in a while, I got to play golf with my wife. Now don’t get me wrong, neither of us are great golfers by any means but we aren’t horrible either. When I play a lot, like once a week, I can shoot in the mid 80’s not too bad. Of course I haven’t been playing as much lately so am shooting around 100, one of those numbers you have to get away from. Then there is my wife, she has the distinction of being listed in the Hall of Fame for hitting a hole in one at a course a number of years ago. Every time I go to play a par three, I am reminded, can I duplicate what she has done? While I have had two eagles and one double eagle in my life, I have never had a hole in one. My wife reminds me of that quite often. Then again, she isn’t that bad of a player either. When playing from the red tees she can stay there with me, and truth is, about half of the time beat me. She doesn’t hit the ball long, but she hits it straight, an attribute you really need if you want to do well in this game.Kansas is a tough place to play golf, it is windy and the roughs are legitimately roughs. There is a lot of what we call tall grass out here and when you hit a ball in one of those areas you hope you can find it. My usual hope when I play golf is that I leave with at least the same number of golf balls I started with. I hate it when I lose balls. Yesterday was a good day for both my wife and I. We actually left the golf course with two more golf balls than we arrived with. Our game wasn’t great, but we had fun and enjoyed each others company.
I guess that in its simplicity that is what yesterday was about. We knew we had a tough day on us. Our house in Oklahoma we assumed went before the judge for foreclosure yesterday. After speaking to several friends who have gone through the same thing, and the realtor handling the house we were told we wouldn’t need to be at the court hearing. With gas prices at $3.29 a gallon here and an anticipated gas bill of $100 we decided instead to play golf. We really needed to find a way to keep the day from being so bad. It wasn’t that we were running from anything, but we knew there was nothing we could do about the house so we needed to find a way to make a bad day into a fun, or good day.
Yesterday was one of those days my wife beat me in the game of golf. For some guys that would be a horrible day. I am reminded though of the bumper stickers that say a bad day fishing is better than a great day at work. Yesterday was kind of like that. The truth is, I got better as the day went on, but my wife got a lot better. I was okay with that, because we laughed, we kidded, we played around like two sweethearts on a date doing something they love. I guess in a way that is exactly what we were doing. This morning, that feeling of fun has continued. I am reminded of the importance of being with people you love when you are going through tough times. Of going out of your way when you know something bad is about to happen and finding a way of turning lemons into lemonade. ( I can’t believe I just used that cliché, so forgive me.) Truth is, there are times all of us go through tough times when we can’t do anything about it. Then there are other times when we have a little forewarning and can do something about it. Again, I am not saying we should run from our problems, but we have to find ways to make some of those problems less menacing and less destructive in our lives. The truth is, life can go on, and things can get better, we don’t have to be down and out, hurting and crying all of the time. When we act on those things and try to replace them with positive things, we can face even difficulties with a smile, and a loving attitude. I guess yesterday was the perfect example of that for me.
Now I realize that not everyone here loves to play golf like my wife and I. But there has to be something you do love. Find out what it is, and when you are facing tough times, spend time doing the thing you love, hopefully with someone you love. There isn’t much better medicine than that and God knows how to fill an empty and hurting heart with some of the most simple things, that is if you let him. I’m here to tell you, at least yesterday, I am really glad I let God work in a lot of ways, on a golf course in Clearwater Kansas. That little taste of love and fun, carried over to at least the next morning. What more can a man ask for when facing the tough times we were facing yesterday?For a Fun Golf Clip with Bob Barker Click on the Video Below, if the video don't show up, just click on the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eteJeOQJ3ds
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