So everyone is excited and counting down the moments to Masters 2015. The suspense, the thrill, the predictions of leaderboard winners, round winners and the new kids on the green.
I visited Augusta National some years ago, and I can still remember the sublime stillness of the perfectly manicured entrance. It will stay with me forever. It is a brilliant place.
Golf: Maybe you are not a golf fan? Maybe you really do not care for it at all? But let me just hold your attention momentarily, thanks!
Think about what you are good at? Do you find it a challenge to define the talents that reside within you? In golf, the term ‘your inner swing’ is much more than just about the outer swing you may carry on the field, it is about the inner strengths you have. The way you play the game of golf, but also the way you play the ‘game’ of life.
In golf, it is all about your pre-swing thoughts, how you relax, and how you handle your frustrations. It is a lot like life: How you handle the pressures of life, determines the way you ‘swing’, the way you approach the challenges life brings.
We all have those moments where we swing wrong, miss the putt, hit the trees, or land in the water. As a caddy, I am learning from the play I see on the fairways of the golf club, that the next shot has absolutely nothing to do with the last shot. The most important transition you can make is to let the last shot go and give the next one everything you have. It is easier said than done, in life, and in golf.
So in life, when you fail, miss the target, fall at the first fence, or experience the greatest disappointment of your life: how do you respond? Do you throw your driver in the lake, kick the divot with frustration, or decide to conquer the losing streak you feel you are in?
In those moments of failure, disheartened confusion and missed shots, it is imperative that you learn and move on. You must! You have to gather yourself together and focus on what comes next. There is a time for evaluation but then comes the moment where you just simply move on!
Life is a lot like a game of golf, whether you play it or not. You must focus on your goals, walk your fairway and discipline the inner swing with which you choose to live your life.
So today, calculate the areas of your life where weakness is dominating, decide where you need to focus your energies most and do it.
Let go of the past failures and aim for a better round ahead.
Come on, your inner swing is yours, you still have it. Eye on the ball, eye on the hole, you can do it!
My richest gain I count but loss…these words swirl around my heart today…all the vain things that charm me most… I sacrifice!
WOW! Today, the day when darkness gripped the world at the exact moment a man on a Cross exasperated his seemingly last breath. He gave His all, His very life, for a world that scarcely appreciated His great gift. As darkness fell, so the tears of a mother who watched her son die, fell to the ground. Those that loved Him stood in silent grief and dismay. Little did they know that while darkness engulfed their grief-stricken hearts, behind the scenes God was working His amazing brilliance and preparing the greatest story ever told. Jesus, in His last moments on the Cross, uttered words of pain and anguish. He questioned why His Father had abandoned Him. He felt separation from God for the very first time. He did this so that we need never experience that separation ever again,
They thought it was the end of everything, every hope, every promise, and every word He spoke to them. They bowed their heads in sorrow, but God was about to roll up His sleeves and astronomically reveal the grandeur of His great love for us. Time stood still, but not Jesus. He was busy disarming the powers of darkness and getting ready to reveal who He said He was.
Then He came back… He demonstrated His awesome love for us on the Cross. He stayed there because of love… If you don’t know His great love for you, I hope that this Easter, you will open your heart to really say yes to His invitation to know Him…and to experience His incredible new life in you.
When Jesus died He screamed though nail-pierced hands “I Will Be Back!”, to a lost and confused world. We can barely comprehend this amazing love, for we have no other love to compare it to. He did come back, and all He said is true.
Do you know Him?
Right now He waits for you to just believe…and everything will change.
He whispers softly yet triumphantly to you: ‘I love you with an everlasting love…simply believe. I came back for you!”
Denise Kennedy❀ 