Angela Stanford wanted to captain an away Solheim Cup. As a feisty point guard growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, Stanford relished the chance to silence the crowd at a rival’s gym.
After a tough loss to the Europeans at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands last September, Stanford woke up the next morning to a familiar verse stretched across her phone: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deut. 31:8).
She looked at it in disbelief. Throughout the entire tenure of her captaincy, she had reminded herself that the Lord goes before her and paves the way. It was her mantra.
“It’s the way it’s always been in my career – if He’s out in front of me, then I don’t have to worry about things,” she said. “I’m relying on Him to walk. If I’m following Him, then what people say about me, and the way people judge me, doesn’t matter.”
Stanford knew that if the U.S. lost, harsh words would follow. So, she stayed off social media the week after the Solheim Cup and enjoyed an extended stay in Europe.
“Honestly, that was my prayer throughout the whole thing, to prepare my heart to be the leader I need to be – prepare my heart for how to handle situations,” she said.
“I never wanted to be reactive. I always wanted to do things with intention.”
The Bible has a lot to say about leadership. Moses says to look for those who are wise, understanding and respected to oversee others (Deut. 1:13).
As a Christian, Stanford understood that how she led mattered more than results.
After a loss, the 48-year-old major winner came to realize that people are less inclined to talk about the good parts of a captaincy. But she can only hope that seeds were planted.
“God calls you to do good things, and do it the right way,” she said, “and not to compromise and put people in bad positions and treat people a certain way. Hopefully they see something different in you, but you may never know that.”
PRAYER: Father God, we thank you for going before us and preparing a way through the hard. We know that doesn’t mean that we always get the results that we dreamed of – but we look to you for higher thoughts and holier ways.