Life is SO Hard

Of course, then there are days like yesterday …

After I did my usual morning routines yesterday, I noticed a few strange things: I was temporarily caught up on my writing and reading, there weren’t a stack of bills to be paid, I didn’t have twenty errands to run, and no one was expecting me to do anything or be anywhere. And the sun was shining and the temperature perfect. A rare morning, indeed.

And so I went out to the garage and looked around for my golf clubs. After a bit of searching, I found them and the shoes and tossed the package into the trunk. A quick dash into the house for a cap and some golf balls off the shelf and I hit the garage door opener, and watched it rise up and reveal the gorgeous day.

And saw my friend standing there. “Well, are we going to do our bible study together today, or are you going out?” Oops, well perhaps there was someone expecting me to be somewhere: home. We chatted, and read one of Newman’s sermons and reflected on it and on God in our lives, and prayed. We admitted we had it pretty good --- in no part because of our actions, but because of His. I gave her a ride home, picked up a few bucks from the local ATM and headed to a nearby course.

Things weren’t crowded, and I got off quickly, and things moved along nicely … except for the delays caused by my hitting that little white thing all over the place --- and often. I was hitting all my drives well, a remarkable thing for me. But, of course, “well” as defined by me means hitting them past the women’s tees each time. (I set low standards for my golfing, then I have some semblance of a chance of achieving them.) I turned the corner after nine and stopped at the clubhouse for a hot dog --- cold and raw, that should have given me pause right there. Things were turning. A deer ran across the fairway right in front of me at the 12th --- I let him play through. But one hole later I caught up with a foursome, including a woman who might have just been learning to play, or so I judged after her 14th or 15th swing (not counting the ones I thought were practice swings). I sat there thinking I was in no hurry this fine day, but after she hit it ten feet again, and again hopped into her cart to drive the ten feet, again, I thought: “Oh nuts, I have better things to do than this”, and I turned around and headed off the course.

When I got home, it turned out the only better thing I could think of to do was to put together the hammock, grab a book, and relax in the yard. And take this picture, to record the event for posterity --- and for myself, for those days on which I may be thinking: “Life is SO Hard.” Yep, and there are cold winter nights, and cold coffee, and cold feet. Often there are days in which it just seems that life sucks, to put it mildly.

I hope I’ll remember on those days, or my guardian angel will prod me to remember, this article and this picture. There were good, warm summer days, and hot coffee, and bare feet on the hammock. And there will be again.

Because God is good. Do Not Be Anxious. God is good.