what does “successful” mean?

IMG_1851-001 Saturday here in Wake Forest, North Carolina was spectacular, with perfect sunshine and a high of 75-degrees. Providentially, I had this year’s second round of golf scheduled, and the day could not have been any better.

I shot pars, I scored bogeys, I recorded double-bogeys, and I even landed one picture-perfect birdie – I was all over the place! But the number of shots really didn’t matter. Oh, I don’t deny that it’s fun to score well (or so I hear), but the real fun is in being out there, enjoying the company of good people, breathing in the fresh air and drinking in the beauty.

I hit the ball really well; it went a long way, and it usually went in exactly the right direction. But the ball didn’t seem to want to get into the hole. Getting the ball into the hole is called “scoring;” but hitting the ball well and enjoying every moment of the afternoon is often unrelated to scoring.

IMG_1848-001 SUCCESS IN LIFE: It’s a lot like the day in and day out of real life. “Success” turns out to mean different things to different people. My life is good, I enjoy everything about it; I feel like I engage my work with a lot of creativity, and I believe I produce exceptionally high quality material. Yet I don’t always “score.”

So am I “successful?” I’d say yes. Because I think the standard for a good life – a “prosperous” life – isn’t necessarily related to scoring. I believe that being successful means tapping into the fullness of life that God created for me to enjoy, it means using the gifts God gave me to serve the cause of the gospel, and to encourage others in their walk as followers of The Way of Jesus.

IMG_1847-001 By the world’s measure, my writing career is in a huge slump, because people are simply not buying my books. However, not only am I enjoying what I have been called to do, and who I am called to be, but I know for a fact that I am reaching people for the Kingdom of God.