It is very unusual to make it all the way to the middle of May having played only a couple of rounds of golf! But this year has been so fragmented, and so busy, and so difficult to navigate that any activity involving several uninterrupted hours has been close to impossible to pull off.

Even so, I missed the first handful of holes due to a side trip to renew my North Carolina Driver’s license. My current license expired back in March. But – being a newly minted “senior” – several weeks went by before I noticed!

It was one of those fundraising tournaments where everyone hits, you pick the ball you like the best, then everyone hits from there. Officially the format is called Captain’s Choice; I prefer to call this approach, “The Law of Christ” (like the passage from Galatians 6: “Help each other in troubles and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey”).

Then there is this team-play definition from Ecclesiastes: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Yes, we fell!

One or more of us “fell” on almost every hole. In the woods, in the water, in the ditch, the occasional trickle off the end of the tee box. No matter, there was always help from the team.

Everyone had a lot to contribute. Luke was by far the best player, but Rick and John holed the most putts. I had a few good drives on the par 5’s, but it was Luke’s accurate long irons that gave us looks for eagle. Then Rick owned the par 3’s.

There was no “winning”! That wasn’t the point. The point was to enjoy the day, relish the company of good people, support the mission initiatives of Dunn Presbyterian Church, and – once in a while – hit a really good golf shot.

Life is good. There is enough for everyone. If you succeed that is so much the better for me! Our calling as Followers of the Way of Jesus is to lift everyone up.

I’ll conclude this post with these amazing words from the Book of James 3:17-18.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

This is what Peacemakers do: They plant seeds of peace and they reap a harvest of righteousness. They lift each other up. They live the law of Christ.

Look at us! Don’t we look like we’ve been reaping a harvest?

Peace and more peace – always and for everyone – DEREK