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Trying
Thursday I played golf with Jared Barr and Ryan Bruck. A “fourth” was also added to our group by the staff at the pro shop where we played. When we first arrived for our round, we thought we’d probably just play as a threesome, but we soon were told, “a fourth is joining your group.” We assumed, at least I did, that it would be a man, probably retired, who came out every day or so just to play a relaxing round of golf. By the time we got in line to hit off the first tee, a 14 year old girl and her mother “joined” our group. We could tell she was a little nervous about playing with us three men, but we quickly introduced ourselves and made sure she knew we were “recreational” golfers just playing to relax and enjoy each others company. (That is why we played wasn’t it?). She said she felt pressure. She felt pressure?!?! You ever hit a tee shot when a 14 year old girl is watching you and she thinks you can really play? The main goal for Jared, Ryan and me for most of the day was to hit our tee shots past the women’s tee!! We succeeded, mostly!
The point of this article isn’t to tell you more about our golf outing; it’s to tell you about McKenzie, the 14 year old girl. She’s an 8th grader who is hoping to make the high school golf team at Wharton next year. McKenzie’s mother, Rachel, rode in a cart with her daughter and was very friendly as well. McKenzie didn’t have a particularly impressive round (none of us did) but she was trying hard and got better as the round progressed. When I asked her about what she was doing to get better, she told me, “I’m taking lessons from the club pro here and playing this course (Heritage Isles) twice a week.” Her mother added, “She really wants this bad and is fully committed to doing what she has to do to make the team.” I have no idea how hard it is to make the girls’ golf team at Wharton High school, but McKenzie is TRYING.
I do know how hard it is to “love God with all your heart, soul and strength” (Deut. 6:5). Moses reminded the children of Israel that “the LORD our God is one God” and would accept nothing less than a full effort from them or their children. He demanded that they TRY and give it their best always. God expected that from the children of Israel and He expects it of us today. Are you TRYING? Are you giving a FULL EFFORT? Are you giving your BEST always?
