Who in your life is a great storyteller? Whose name comes to mind when you visualize the character with the ability to turn a phrase, to retell an incident (even one where you were present) that comes so alive with each word that you find yourself enraptured in the narrative of your own experience? Getting engrossed in a great story is one of my favorite activities, whether that comes in the form of a book, a movie, a speech, or tall tales around a campfire.

Perhaps my admiration for storytellers is heightened because it is a skill I admire; yet seem unable to acquire. Even my attempts to tell a joke usually fall flat, yet I know through teaching research that Narratives are Needed and Simple Stories are profoundly important to learning; but even in my classes, I continue to struggle with using this effective tool of communication. So, I am going to resist the urge to try and tell this next story on my own, and instead, will quote the original from Jentzen Franklin’s Acre of Diamonds and what I will refer to as Ball in the Cup.

“I heard a story once about three golfers. Two are excellent. The third is terrible. The bad golfer tees off first. The ball sails through the air. No one can tell where it lands. He is not hopeful. The other two tee off. Their shots fly off toward the center of the fairway. The three friends hop in a golf cart and speed off toward the green. Only two balls are there, both belonging to the good golfers. The bad golfer starts looking around for his ball. Used to losing a lot of balls, he figures his probably landed in the woods somewhere. Just before one of the good golfers tries to hit his ball in the hole, he realizes a ball is already in there. The bad golfer reaches down, picks up the ball, looks at it strangely and says, “Can you believe that someone not only left a ball in here, but it’s exactly like mine?” The other two golfers laugh and say, “That is pretty amazing! Imagine that!” About the same time, a golf pro who works the course pulls up right next to the three friends. “Hey, folks,” he says. “Me and some of my co-workers were standing right over there and saw your hole in one. It was pretty incredible. Which one of you made that shot?” I’m sure by now you know the end of the story. The hole in one belonged to the bad golfer. The incredible thing is that none of them even considered that ball could have been his, not even the bad golfer himself! All three thought it was just a strange coincidence the ball in the hole looked the same as the one he had played with. None of them were even open to the possibility the bad golfer could have made a good shot. In their eyes, it was impossible. I want you to get to a place where you are not shocked when you look down and see your ball in the cup. I want you to believe in and see the positive in situations, not the negative.”

I delight that the story utilizes a sport theme to convey a life lesson that a flourishing life may not always take the route we expected. God has the ability, and I think quite frankly, loves using the unexpected, especially the Tough Seasons, to help us create Habits of Growth and Resilience. I imagine His delight when we choose to accept that He desires to utilize our weaknesses, perhaps our lack of golf skills, to accomplish great things if only we would alter our perspective to see our Ball in the Cup! Rather than fall into a trap of cynicism and doubt, we rise up onto Tiptoes of Expectation of how God might desire to use us in our current Season, in our present vocation, and in our existing location.

Franklin shares, “Expect God to do a work in your life. Expect Him to complete the work He already started. Believe He can restore what has been broken. Break the spirit of negativism by waiting with expectation. You don’t have to see it to believe. Start now. Praise in expectation. Sow in expectation. Pray in expectation. Expect the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in every area of your life. It’s tiptoe time for you!” And perhaps, this expectation may lead you to find that when you arrive onto the unseen green that was hidden around the bend, indeed it is your Ball in the Cup, and God is using you in a way that you could never have imagined.

Please feel free to share of a time when God used the unexpected in your life to accomplish a goal.

 Reference:

Franklin, J. (2020). Acres of diamonds: Discovering God’s best right where you are. Chosen Books.