Friday, May 4, 2018

Golf, presidents and persistence ............. Parables 737

November 6, 2001

Despite the insistence from non-fans that the game of golf only “spoils a good walk,” I know why golfers enjoy their game and keep coming back. It’s that occasional perfect shot. I had a dream once in which I played a perfect golf game, finishing with a hole-in-one. I woke up laughing. Even though an occasional good shot gets me back on the course, in my case, perfection takes a lot more than dreaming.

My husband calls golf a “muscle memory” game. I say I have a bad memory. He says practice may not make me perfect but it would certainly help my game. So, I need to practice. Actually, if golf can teach me persistence, then this otherwise “spoiled good walk” has more value to it than I thought.

Persistence is an important commodity. History offers many examples. For instance, a family was forced out of their home when their son was seven. He had to work to help support them. His mother died two years later. At twenty-two, he lost his job. He wanted to go to law school but his education was insufficient so he went into debt to became a partner in a small business. Less than five years later, his business partner died and it took him years to repay the debt.

He courted a girl for four years but she turned down his marriage proposal. After trying three times, he was elected to Congress but failed to be re-elected two years later. Two years after that, his four-year-old son died. Four years later, he ran for the Senate and lost. In two years, he failed as candidate for vice-president, then two years after that failed to make the Senate again. Finally, at fifty-one, he was elected president of the United States. His name? Abraham Lincoln. He persisted and became part of American history.

God tells his people to also persist. When life gets rough, we are not only to keep trying, but the Bible says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1)

Aside from the “be joyful” part, God makes sense. We are not born with persistence. We need trials to learn and develop it. Without steep hills to climb or difficulties to overcome, our lives atrophy.

The Bible continues: “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Gems are polished with friction; we are perfected with trials. Notice that enduring under pressure is the mark of maturity. Obviously, those who endure must be well-grounded in their faith. They can handle whatever comes their way with courage and determination because they know that God is with them and He will help them through the trial.

Compared to the difficulties faced by Abraham Lincoln, being persistent in golf is a small challenge but big or small, whatever looms up before us can be seen as important to our character development and maturity. Rather than letting trials produce whining and retreat, we can let them produce growth in our lives.

So I’m working on the ability to stick to it, no matter what. Facing obstacles is a challenge but I try. As I do, I’m also noticing there is one other obstacle — when I see trouble coming, I’m not quite yet able to be joyful about it!

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