My husband loves to golf . . .

To most of you who know us, this is not a sudden revelation!!  But I’m not sure that many people really get what golf does for him.  While he often plays for enjoyment with others, he is one of those guys who really doesn’t mind playing alone.  It seems to have a variety of benefits depending on his mindset of the moment.  Like . . .

1.   Stress relief . . . when he is frustrated with things at work (or rarely with things at home J) he seems to be able to gain a fresh perspective as he ‘talks to himself’ (or more likely God) on the course.  (I guess the mental health benefits outweigh the appearance of ‘crazy’ as he seems to be talking to himself!)

2.   Clarification . . . when he has a particularly sticky text for Sunday he often works it through as he ‘chips and putts’ in the great outdoors.
3.  Mini-vacation . . . as it seem to 'take him out' of his daily responsibilities and 'into a world-away' for just a few hours.

3.   Pure delight in God’s creation . . . he has actually been heard saying, “It was like being in a Disney cartoon today!  It was so beautiful . . . I was expecting Bambi and Thumper to come bounding out . . .”   

4.   Exercise . . . although I must say that is more in the past than the present as the golf cart is often required at courses here in the city!!!

5.   The Challenge . . . as he plays in his own private tournament (it might be the Masters or the US Open) doing the color commentary and play by play in his head.  (Yes, he might be embarrassed that I told on him . . . but he doesn’t read this so . . .)

At any rate, when anyone insinuates that playing golf is a waste of time (Yes, even you, John Piper!) I am thinking in my head, “No, you just don’t get it.  It keeps my husband sane and he somehow connects with God 'out there' . . . and I’ll encourage that any day!!”

Next time,

Karol

PS:  I really did ask him if it was OK to give away his secret in # 5!  I think he's fairly confident that not many will read this!! J