Have You Ever Had a Day When Everything Went Right?

What a great question!

We can all easily remember the times when everything went wrong. The first date when I locked the keys in the car...while it was still running. The sermon I started by noticing my fly was open. The missed appointment. The wrong meeting time. The church-wide promotion day when only a handful of people showed up.

All of these are hypothetical, of course...I have a friend.

Things will go wrong. Jesus Himself told us, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33).

But have you ever had a moment when everything went right? A time when all the elements came together to create a memory that still makes you break out the goofy grin? You want to remember every detail because it shows you at your very best. You shined! Your gifts were on full display. The people around you were in awe...and honestly, so were you.

Even as I write this, I'm amazed that one of my moments happened on a golf course in the Dominican Republic.

My relationship with golf has been...tempestuous. Some days it feels smooth and easy. Other days are full of bewilderment, frustration, and an ongoing internal dialogue about selling my clubs to a pawn shop. It covers the full spectrum.

That day, I was playing in an annual tournament with sixteen guys from our church. Round three paired me with a teammate against two players from another team. On each hole, whichever of us had the better score counted. I was our team's highest handicap, which is a polite way of saying I was the weakest link. We were playing the mountain course: stunningly beautiful and just as challenging, with elevation changes that could humble anybody.

The first hole was a par 5 across a small ravine. I hooked my drive way left into the rough. My second shot was a worm burner, about six inches off the ground the whole way, but it got closer. My third found the fringe. My fourth got me close. My fifth dropped. Par.

And the rest of the round kept following that pattern. Good drives and bad drives. Approaches on target and approaches wandering off. A few lucky escapes from trouble. Decent putts.

By the fourteenth hole, I knew something special was happening. I was only three over par. My partner was playing fine, but we weren't using many of his scores. We were both ecstatic.

Fourteen was a par 3 over a cliff onto a big green with a hill hugging the right side. I wasn't arrogant, but my confidence was sky high. I cracked a 5-iron way up in the air...and way right. It landed on top of the hill. My partner's shot sailed off the back of the green and over the cliff.

It was up to me.

My ball sat 25 yards from the flag, up on that hill. And I had the craziest idea: putt it. The grass wasn't long. It looked like the ball would roll right through. So I lined it up, hit it square...and watched it roll down the hill, across the green, and stop two feet from the pin.

I tapped it in for par. That hole clinched the match.

With the match won, I still wanted to finish and post my score. The last few holes were not pretty, but I walked off with an 81. To this day, it's the best round of golf I've ever played. Every part of my game came together, clunkers and all. And I will never forget putting off that hill.

I wish I could tell you I learned something profound. Mostly I learned a few simple things:

• You have to show up for something good to happen.

• Your best day will still have clunkers in it. You're rarely perfect.

• Stay in the moment.

• Don't expect perfection next time. (I shot a 93 the next day.)

• Savor the wins, forget the losses quickly, and learn from everything.

• Biggest takeaway: have fun!

Jesus said there would be trouble. He also said, "Take heart!" Some days, He lets everything go right, just so we remember what joy feels like.

What's your moment? I'd love to hear it.

Wish you the best. Go get 'em!