On Friday we arrived in Odessa, Texas. Saturday morning the alarm went off and I drug my tired body out of bed. I was asked to play golf in a local tournament.
That's a nice idea except I don't know how to play golf! The first and last time I played was before Mikhail Gorbachev was sworn in as Russia's president and Tiger Woods was 13.
We arrived at the golf club and I got my loaner clubs out. They were wrapped with a bungee cord on each end. Lynne said, "This putter right here is a genuine antique." He should know they are his.
All of the Men began to arrive in their pickups and get out their top of the line hi tech gear. I was the only one who didn't have his very own glove stuck in his back pocket.
These men weren't wearing cowboy hats today. No sir.
They were were wearing sweat wicking golf hats with names like "ping" on the front.
The manager of the club loaned me his empty golf bag. I got more compliments on my golf bag then anything else. "That sure is a good looking bag." Wow that bag can hold everything!
Ben Wall showed up and we jumped in a golf cart and away we flew.
Now I looked like a respecable golfer... sitting in the golf cart.
I can't tell you how stupid I felt as I swung and missed the ball.
The three men who were on my team were so encouraging. They cheered everytime I hit the ball.
Even if the ball headed for the parking lot they would give positive comments about my swing or how far I hit it... even if it was in the wrong direction.
There wasn't a time that I hit the ball that they didn't say something nice.
I felt so akward, embarrased and out of place. Did I mention that I lost six balls!
If it wasn't for their encouragement I probably would have left.
When one of the guys made a bad hit they would use that to encourage. The men were fun to be with.
In this tournament we were put into teams of four and each of us would hit and then we would pick the best one of the four and play from there.
I tried to copy everything they did.
My golfing skills did not help the team until the very last hole.
We were on edge of the sloping green. They had me go first to see how the ball rolled. I hit the ball a couple feet to the left and it curved around and around for about ten feet and dropped right in the cup!
You would have thought I had earned the green blazer the way the men cheered. High Fives all around.
When we got back to the club house the guys didn't mention all of my mistakes...they talked about my one good putt.
Since Friday
I have reflected on the golf tournement with the rules, special clothes, insider language and how the guys treated me.
I compared it to church in my mind.
How stupid and clumsy new comers to Christianity must feel. I wonder if I have been as encouraging and quick to overlook mistakes as my teammates were when i missed the ball three or four times or sent it to the bottom of the pond. When I was golfing I couldn't do anything wrong at least that is how they made me feel. They didn't make fun of my antique clubs...they loaned me their high dollar graphite ones and told me "you can't hurt these things."
Golf for many of these men is not a hobby but a passion
They tried to recruit me to thier golfing community with words like.."one good hit and you could be hooked for life."
How'd that feel? Wasn't that nice. You're a natural. You are doing great!
I want to be a part of church who treats everyone the way these guys treated me on the golf course.
High Fives all around. Good job! That was beautiful!
