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Back in the mid to late ‘90s I had a regular group of golfers that I used to play with every Tuesday morning at 7:00 at the Southwind Golf Course in nearby Winchester, KY. We would tee off promptly at 7:00 and be done by around 10:00 most mornings. The fellows that I played with were a joy with which to play. They were all older than me and reasonably good golfers who would venture into the low 70s for a round or two but usually played in the 80s. It was fun because we would enjoy each other’s company and share about our families and our work or, if applicable, retirement.

The three men I played with were Tom Wilson, Robbie Robertson and Shug Kennedy. Of the three Shug was the most consistent scorer. He was also the youngest of the three being just a few years older than me while the other two men were both into their sixties at the time. Yesterday morning I played my usual Monday morning round at Southwind and was joined by Don Henry who was now the regular playing partner of Shug. He and I talked quite a bit which was difficult considering Don is about as deaf as you can be and still hear. We reminisced about Robbie who had succumbed to cancer the previous year.

Don told me about Tom, who no longer plays due to having lost his sight to the point where even seeing the ball to hit it is impossible. Then he filled me in on Shug. Just recently Shug had a tonsillectomy due to a pair of suspicious looking tonsils. During that surgery they also found a growth in this neck that looked equally suspicious. The growth was malignant and now Shug is into treatments to lengthen his life. I couldn’t help but note the sadness in Don’s voice as he talked about Shug.

After I had moved from the Winchester area Don had kind of taken my place in the Tuesday morning fourball. The last time that I had played with the guys was several years ago. All three of those men were, or are, men of faith. The bottom line is, they’re just men. Beyond the wonderful camaraderie that made golf with them a joy, they are just like me; subject to life and all its pitfalls and unexpected twists and maladies. Life with only personal excellence is, at best, a crap shoot. Ah, but life in the hands of the God who made us; now that’s different.

We are warned about life in scripture. “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood; like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away.” Psalm 90:1,4-6,10 What my three friends and I know is that life is not about this world. Life is about the time that we fly away.

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

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