…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
Angela Stanford was 8 years old when she walked down the aisle at Saginaw Park Baptist Church to give her life to Christ. Mom didn’t drag her down there either – young Stanford felt the unmistakable, indescribable tug of the Lord.
At 47 years old, the seven-time LPGA winner views everything she does through the lens of her faith, and lately, she’s been learning a lot about how to wait.
“I feel like for the better part of my life, most times I’ve always gotten what I wanted,” said Stanford, “as bad and as weird as that sounds. I feel like I’ve been very fortunate.”
As she waited to hear if she would be the next U.S. Solheim Cup captain, Stanford examined her heart along the way.
If she’s always talking about her faith – that no matter what God has for her, she’ll be OK with it – does she really mean it?
“What if you don’t get what you pray for? What if you don’t get what you want? All those what-ifs. How do you react? I think I really needed to grow in that aspect,” said Stanford.
“For me, in that period of waiting, I needed to learn to be OK with both of those outcomes.”
As it turns out, Stanford will be the captain in the Netherlands in 2026. She finally won her major championship victory at age 40. But she didn’t go out the way she wanted, by joining Jack Nicklaus as the only player to reach 100 consecutive major championship appearances. That streak stopped at 98 last year.
In Romans 12:12, Paul sums up how we are to be in all circumstances: joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.
Sometimes, Stanford said, she forgets that she’s not the one in the proverbial captain’s seat. She’s relieved to know there’s an all-knowing and loving Father whose timing never fails.
“Maybe you’re not ready to handle something that you think you want,” she said, “maybe God is still trying to teach you something. I think I’ve learned to be grateful that he’s still working on me. If he weren’t working on me, I’d be worried.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for sitting in the captain’s seat every second of every day. May we grow to appreciate the wait and the learning that comes with it.