When I first saw the two rocks, I thought “Ah man. This is not going to be good for me.” Did you think I was climbing? Nope. I was playing miniature golf in Ormond Beach.
It’s a tradition. Every time we visit our relatives in Florida, we play putt putt at Pirate’s Cove. Believe it or not, I am not that secure in my ability to play miniature golf. It’s not like playing softball. When I walk out onto a ballfield, I am confident on how I will play the game, but when it comes to putt putt or bowling, I just ever know.
At our last game, I actually did pretty well. On most of the holes, I made par or one over. I made close shots to the hole without overshooting it. I even banked a few balls off the edging where the ball rolled straight into the hole. Then came the hole with the rocks.
When we walked up to the hole, my heart sank. I knew this was going to be the end of my good playing streak. There we two rocks that sat diagonally on the green, so the pathway way between them was narrow and lead to the side of the green instead of to the hole. Needless to say, most of my family didn’t make it past the rocks. Then there were a couple of them who hit the ball around the back of the rock on the right. That path was narrower than the space between them.
Finally, it was my turn. I sat my ball down and looked at the two different pathways. I knew the best thing to do was to hit the ball where it would roll behind the rock on the right, but could I actually make that shot? What if my ball hit the wall behind the rock and bounced back? Would it better if I tried to hit the ball where it could bounce of the edge of the other rock?
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” James 1:6 (KJV)
When I made my shot, I chose to try to bank the ball off of the left rock. It hit toward the middle of it and bounced back toward me. I wondered what would have happened if I had hit my ball toward the other path? Did I cheat myself out of making a good shot or possibly a hole in one. I will never know because I wavered. I totally doubted my ability.
Personally, I think doubt is one of the worst things we can do. It keeps us from achieving so much. It can also kill dream before they have a chance to be realized. What we should always do when faced with important decisions is to ask God in faith what He wants us to do. That way we can be sure of the path we are to take. That is much better than being tossed around like a shell in the ocean.
It was still a good game in that I finished in fourth place instead of the bottom two as usual. Best of all, I didn’t fall and roll across any of the greens. Although, I did stumble a couple of times.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.