Life according to Tin Cup

I turned 49 a few days ago.   Wow!  How quickly time goes by.   The older I get, the more I realize the importance of life and of the relationships in life.  This Age thing does make you wiser.  Like it or not, we learn from our past and that helps shape decisions about our future.  But it can also harden you if you aren't careful.   Interesting though how we adapt to our surroundings and to the seasons that God puts in front of us.   Now,  I find myself at a crossroads again in life.  Where do I go from here?  For Many of you, there are children, grandchildren,  careers and a home.   But for me, I have none of those things.   I find myself wondering what God has planned for me as I begin this last stage of my life. 
For those who know me, I am a huge golfer.  And as such, I have played many a round of golf.  My favorite round had to be at Old Head in southern Ireland.  It was an experience I will never forget.    I always seem to find myself comparing my life to a round of golf.  How many of you have gone out and had a bad front 9 only to shoot a great back 9 and salvage a good round.  Or had a great score going only to hit a ball out of bounds and take a double or triple bogey.   Well life can be like that.  I find that I am probably on the 12th hole of life (God willing).  And what an up and down round I have had so far.  I have made a number of birdies in this life only to have just completed back to back double bogeys.  (or worse)   I think that the key to this round is to how I respond and handle these last 6 holes of life.   Am I going to be a golfer who falls apart after a few bad holes or am I going to right the ship and finish strong.  For me, I hope that I can keep my eye on the present and focus on the future without getting caught up in the past.   Finish the round strong!    It has taken me a lot of rounds of golf to understand how to manage my game (and my life).  I used to be a lot like Roy McEvoy from Tin Cup.  I always went for the green in two.  I Loved the risk/reward for making a difficult shot.  But now  I have learned through trial and error the importance of making  prudent decisions.    Humility, along with some failures,  has a way of doing that.  And I believe I have learned from life not to do what Roy did on the 18th hole of the US Open in Tin Cup.  For those of you who don't remember, here is the dialogue.

Roy: My whole career, my whole life on the line...I just made a 12 on the last hole of the Open!

Molly: You sure did. It was the greatest 12 of all time. No one's going to remember the Open 10 years from now, who won...but they'll remember your 12! My, God, Roy, it was...Well, it's immortal! I am so proud of you!

Roy went down in a blaze.  He continued over and over again to try and hit a shot over the lake instead of laying up.   He let his ego get the best of him and he finished with a 12.   For me, I have already had my blaze of glory.  I went for it in two and I didn't make it.   But unlike Roy, I am laying up now.  I am ready to take my medicine and play it safe moving forward.  I am thankful to not only be able to make a par but for the opportunity God has given me to play the game.  And, while I didn't have an incredible round, I do know I had a memorable one.  And most importantly, I know that God is right beside me as i finish this round!