Focus on your target, not the trees

Sometimes, more often than not, life throws a curve ball. I want to know what is ahead. It reminds me of an article from many years ago....

I wanna know. From the Garden of Eden to right now, that's been an issue. We "wanna know." Here's something you may or may not "wanna know." Many, many years ago I used to swing a golf club. Sometimes it was pretty. Sometimes it was ugly. I covered a whole lot of real estate when I hit the ball.

You can understand why I've been hesitant about picking the game up again.

But I caught the bug. I thought I'd give it a shot -- or a bunch of shots. My coach husband and expert golfer, Cooper, is a very, very patient teacher, but even the patient and kind can reach their limits. I believe he met his a few weeks into teaching. I think it happened when the only thing consistent about my game was my not lining the ball up correctly. His shoulders began to take on an odd slump as he followed my shot.

An intelligent man, he began talking up how fun it would be if I could find a group of girls who played. Now, in this very patient man's defense, he never, ever showed his frustrations. He gave me the keys to his pride and joy, his golf cart. He introduced me to a lady named Judy who was part of a morning ladies golf group.

Judy and the girls made me feel right at home. Sure, they were a whole lot better than me, but somehow on our first meeting, I was relaxed. Once again there were good shots and some terribly bad ones, but at Judy's suggestions I made some really helpful changes.

Then the dreaded forest came into play. I usually can get out of the woods since I've had so much practice being in them. On this occasion I messed up a great drive by knocking my second shot behind a tree. It went from bad to worse. A ball went " kersplash" in the water, and then another. I was hollering, "What am I doing wrong?"

Judy simply told me I had a case of the "I wanna knows." I kept looking up to see where the ball was going and it created a mess.

That'll preach. We can really muddy the waters when we "wanna know." We aren't always going to know what tomorrow holds and working up a sweat about it doesn't do anything but ruin a shot at a good day. We miss out on today if we always are worrying about what's ahead. Life is often out of our control.

If you suddenly get a case of the "I wanna knows," know this: "Be still and know that He is God." That's a course that is sure to play well. Relax and remember Nahum 1:7: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him."

Now, that's what I wanna know!

Kandi Farris, a freelance correspondent, also is a speaker on matters of faith and values.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Focus on your target, not the trees ."