The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul. –Psalm 23
So once in a while a couple of grown men will temporarily lose their minds and spend the day walking around in 40-degree weather waving golf clubs at a tiny ball. Here’s the funny thing: shivering, freezing-cold hands, wind-chill factor in the 30’s, ball responding sometimes like a stone-cold rock, George and I still had a great time.
Saturday was the absolute first time I have ever in my entire life played 18 holes of golf without removing any of my jacket, scarf, hat, sweater, sweatshirt, extra gloves protective ensemble.
The round was not one of my best, but I have seldom had more fun. There were some highlights (like starting out with two pars and finishing birdie, par on 17 and 18), plus some straight-up miracles such as me walking deep into a hazard, swinging an 8-iron as hard as I could at a partially exposed ball in a nasty thick tangle of brambles, then watching it sail high in the air and land in the middle of the green just twelve feet away from the hole.
The best, however, is drinking in the cool, fresh air here in the rolling terrain of the beautiful North Carolina Piedmont. A few of the words that come to mind include refreshing, invigorating, rejuvenating, stimulating, bracing.
This may seem like a stretch, but I see God a lot like that breath of fresh air, blowing out the cobwebs and refreshing my spirit like a stiff breeze renewing life all the way into the deep places of my soul.
I am truly grateful for every opportunity I have to drink in the invigorating life of Jesus. It’s like the Psalmist writes in Psalm 23: “You refresh my soul.”
Life is good! Life is constantly presenting us with opportunities to grow. At the same tome, God is encouraging, Jesus is challenging, and the Spirit is so very refreshing.
– DEREK
Derek Maul: Words, Photographs, and Food for the Journey 