Life is like Golf

In the golfing world, yesterday may have been oneof the most exciting and long awaited days in thesports history. "The Masters" golf tournament isthe most prestigious championships in all of golf,but no more important than to the man that won it.As he walked up the eightieth fairway, I couldn'thelp but wonder what was going through his mind.You see, Phil Mickelson was known as the bestgolfer in the world who never won a majorchampionship. In forty-seven tries he placed inthe top ten eight times and three of them werepreviously placing third in The Masters, yet henever could win the big one. He developed areputation of choking in the last rounds neverable to finish on top of the leaderboard.

So yesterday, as he walked up to the green of theeightieth hole tied for the lead and a twenty footputt to win the tournament, you could say he hadthe weight of the golf world on his shoulders."Something was different today," he said in aninterview after the round, and you could see thatin his face as he walked up that long fairway. Hesmiled as he relished that moment in what normallywould be a stress filled frown. "I just knew itwas my day." he said. Can you imagine the hunger,the thirst for victory Phil had to have at thatmoment, yet at the same time fighting the feelingsof fear and the haunting times of failure downdeep inside? But "this was my day," he said.

One of the last things Jesus said that most of uslook over was "I thirst". I think we would havereacted just like the Roman soldiers did as theyraised a rag filled with water and vinegar toJesus' month. Did Jesus thirst for water for hisphysical body or did he thirst for the father evenin his time of death? In his time of defeat withthe weight of the world on his shoulders I believethe symbolism was Jesus was still hungry to serve.He thirsted not for water as we see it, but forthe living water that his heavenly father couldonly give.

All of us have had failures and we have all walkeddown that lonely fairway of life not knowing if wewould win or lose. But what brought Phil Michelsonto that moment in time was not the manytournaments that he won in the past, but thosethat eluded him. Phil could have chosen thisweekend to just say here I go again, and dwell onwhat could have been, yet he didn't, "today is myday" he thought. It's not about last week'stournament or yesterdays failures, but about thisshot in life we have right in front of us. You seewe can allow our failures in life and the weightof the world to do us in or we can just say,"Today is my day."

What are you doing today as you walk down yourfairway of life? Are you hungry for God'sblessings in your life? Or are you carrying theweight of your past with you each and every shot. In life as in the game of golf, it's not aboutyour last shot it's about forgetting it andlooking forward to the next. The question is, "Doyou thirst enough?"

Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz