He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, AMP)
While the PGA Tour has returned to the fairways, the LPGA and Symetra Tours are waiting to restart in late July. In the meantime, many female pros are taking their games to state opens for competition. These events are not as lucrative, nor is it where the tour players want to be playing, but it is providing time for the ladies to sharpen their games.
I have not picked up a club since early March. Matter of fact, I have had little desire to play at all since most of our Legend Tour events have been cancelled. A professional golfer who doesn’t desire to play golf? Don’t worry, my golf DNA and cherished relationships will lure me back to the beauty of the fairways. My swing will feel unstable and my back will be poked with pain, but I will play when the time is right and I can see the beauty around me.
Churches have also been waiting patiently for the appropriate time to gather again. Many people are eager, but others feel apprehensive, maybe even apathetic. Are your feet floating in midair with no assurance of where they will land? Is it OK to feel concerned or unsure? I feel the ambivalence around all of these thoughts.
A Christian who doesn’t want to go to church? Don’t fret, I will return to the pews and worship with my spiritual community again.Sunday church attendance has been a contention throughout my Christian life. Not because I am anti-church, but because if I was at church on Sunday then I wasn’t playing the final round of the tournament that week. Church interplayed with frustration, disappointment, and financial loss for the week.
My tension with attending church on Sunday has continued to be a struggle even after retiring from tour golf. It’s foreign to my spiritual DNA, and I battle between go and not go. A Christian who doesn’t want to go to church? Don’t fret, I will return to the pews and worship with my spiritual community again. Is it OK if I wrestle in my ambivalence and hold that the eternity God planted in my heart still remains? Is it important to gather with others who love Jesus? Yes! And, God “has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time.”
The number of rounds of golf played is not a direct correlation to a person’s love for the game. Likewise, church attendance is not the measure for the amount of eternity (a sense of God’s divine purpose) planted in our hearts. Whether we play or don’t play, whether we attend or don’t attend, God alone is the one who makes everything beautiful and appropriate at the right time. Our only response is to welcome his presence every day of the week.
—
Tracy Hanson
June 25, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
Photo by Will van Wingerden on Unsplash