This afternoon I broke my normal routine and took the winding, back road, longer, route--a good ten minutes longer. It was the road I used to take before the newer one was finally put in nearly a decade ago. Needless to say--I haven't nor do I ever usually find myself driving on it. But--today I chose differently.
The windows down, my summer playlist streaming, sunglasses on, sunshine peeking through the clouds...it felt good---so good--really really really good. It was more enjoyable, more joy-filling, than anytime I drove home on the quicker, shorter road.
My spirit got the memo--it's not about the short way...it's all about the long way.
The men in my life might be surprised by this but I do know the Master's is in full swing this week. A game that according to Jason Sobel, golfchannel.com, just might be all about the long way too...
"Long game is more important than short game. In a revelation that is sure to leave the old-school “drive for show, putt for dough” thinkers stomping in their soft spikes, Broadie found that 68 percent of the differential between golfers can be found in the long game, with only 17 percent attributable to short game and 15 percent to putting.'When I compare the top players on the PGA Tour, I find that the long game contributes about two-thirds to their success while the short game and putting contributes about one-third,” Broadie said. “Initially I was surprised, so I analyzed the data in different ways and found that all roads led to the same conclusion.' For example, in any given year if you looked at the scoring average of the top 10 on the money list compared with those ranking 116-125, the scoring average differential would be about two strokes. Based on Broadie’s comparative analysis, about 1.4 of those strokes gained would come from the long game, while only 0.6 would be attributable to short game and putting." (Check out the full article here.)
Success is about the long game--not the short game. You can define success anyway you wish. Our world easily breaks down success. It is attaining a certain kind of lifestyle, it is that position in your career path. It is the specific number in your bank account, the ring placed or not placed on your left hand, it's building the dream house.
More than anything, I know this: the greatest most incredible example of a long game was celebrated this past Sunday--Jesus' Empty Tomb.
You see Jesus wasn't about a lifestyle, he was about the living.
Jesus wasn't about a certain position, he was about serving.
Jesus wasn't about the amount of money he had in his pocket, he was about giving.
Jesus wasn't about a ring on his finger, he was about the hole in hands.
Jesus wasn't about having the dream house, he was about building a kingdom.
Jesus works, lives, and refines with the long way in mind. He truly has the greatest long game. His definition of success, of completion, of arriving...is opposite of ours. It always has been. We see in part but one day we will see in full.
I hate the long way. I'm really really good at knowing how to maneuver the short way. I am efficient, strategic, set in my pattern. I get from point A to point B quick. A trait I take pride in. Needless to say this love of the short way does not bode well with Jesus' love of the long way. This dissonance between my way and His builds relationship. This struggle connects. This wrestle creates trust. There are many items on my success-to-do-list and my timing-checklist that don't match up to His long way.
I always say if you want to make God laugh...tell Him your plans. Well, I've been keeping Him laughing for years. I'm a planner, I'm a doer, I'm a striver, I always have been. But it's the inner yearning, the pressing conviction towards something greater, something more fulfilling, that made me take the winding road today. It might be the long way but it just might be the best way.
-Authentically Me
-Authentically Me
