Can golf and ministry be for real?
Can one's life be orchestrated from within their mother's womb? By God?
One of the benefits and curses of a career Army officer is the constant movement throughout the world. One can end up in a crappy assignment, like Eschborn, Germany in 1975 where the mud was deeper than some of the estuaries into the compound. One can even end up in Glyfada, Greece just outside of Athens and just short of Sounion where Hemingway penned one of his books, I believe.
As I said it can be a mixed blessing. The first thoughts when snagging an assignment like Athens, Greece looks like a birthday present from the Almighty, yet, when you have to fly from New York to Frankfurt, Germany in a completely packed military leased jetliner for 8 hours, get bussed over to the military side of the Frankfurt Flughafen, board a C141 with netting for chairs for your entire family, yup, all four of 'em and me, fly for another four hours in this incredibly uncomfortable, noisy and smelly Air Force cargo plane. Then, land in Athens Greece at Hellenikon Airbase under armed guard and have to walk across the tarmac in the scorching heat with babies crying and wife grumbling and trying to keep a military comportment. It just doesn't resemble the original picture of Retzina, Greek tavernas and island hopping on Greek ferries in a bathing suit.....
Can one's life be orchestrated from within their mother's womb? By God?
One of the benefits and curses of a career Army officer is the constant movement throughout the world. One can end up in a crappy assignment, like Eschborn, Germany in 1975 where the mud was deeper than some of the estuaries into the compound. One can even end up in Glyfada, Greece just outside of Athens and just short of Sounion where Hemingway penned one of his books, I believe.
As I said it can be a mixed blessing. The first thoughts when snagging an assignment like Athens, Greece looks like a birthday present from the Almighty, yet, when you have to fly from New York to Frankfurt, Germany in a completely packed military leased jetliner for 8 hours, get bussed over to the military side of the Frankfurt Flughafen, board a C141 with netting for chairs for your entire family, yup, all four of 'em and me, fly for another four hours in this incredibly uncomfortable, noisy and smelly Air Force cargo plane. Then, land in Athens Greece at Hellenikon Airbase under armed guard and have to walk across the tarmac in the scorching heat with babies crying and wife grumbling and trying to keep a military comportment. It just doesn't resemble the original picture of Retzina, Greek tavernas and island hopping on Greek ferries in a bathing suit.....
That's what it looked like in 1988 when as a Major I was awarded this cherry assignment. In fact, I was assigned the tour in late 1986 and proceeded to spend months and months with and, then, away from my family for Greek Language School in Monterey California, Rotary Wing Refresher Training and Fixed Wing transition training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, DSAA Foreign Military Sales Training in Ohio and, finally, C12 Aircraft Qualification School in Andrews Air Force Base before taking the trek I referred to above.
Athens is the 78th largest city relative to population, but has to be one of the top 5 polluted cities as evidenced by the way my clothes smelled each day I worked in the city. In fact, it must also be one of the craziest cities for drivers as well. It's just chaotic. But, the Islands of Greece..... delightful!!
But, this blog is about seeking my passion and I just happened to have found it while stationed in Athens Greece in 1990. I had become a serious Believer in Jesus Christ in 1981 and I was becoming more and more mature in my faith as I was regularly in the Word of God, attending chapel, working with the kids attending the chapel on Base and bringing up my family to honor and respect the Lord.
Athens is the 78th largest city relative to population, but has to be one of the top 5 polluted cities as evidenced by the way my clothes smelled each day I worked in the city. In fact, it must also be one of the craziest cities for drivers as well. It's just chaotic. But, the Islands of Greece..... delightful!!
But, this blog is about seeking my passion and I just happened to have found it while stationed in Athens Greece in 1990. I had become a serious Believer in Jesus Christ in 1981 and I was becoming more and more mature in my faith as I was regularly in the Word of God, attending chapel, working with the kids attending the chapel on Base and bringing up my family to honor and respect the Lord.
I was looking quite far forward in my planning one day in 1990 when I was praying as retirement was just a short 4.5 years away. I clearly remember asking the Lord if there was anything that might lie out there in the world back home that could involve ministry and, yup, here it comes, the game of golf? That's right, the game of golf and ministry. I recognized my passion for the game of golf. In fact, I even regularly played the Athens Country Club although golf was not respected in Greece very much at this time. As most of you know who regularly read this blog, I have an incredible passion for the game of golf. But, I had been developing this voracious love for the Lord as well and, maybe, just maybe, the Lord had a plan. So I asked Him.
"Lord, is there any way You can help me find a ministry serving You and the Kingdom that happens to be golf related?"
He said, "You will be an agent for Christian golfers."
What? Did I just hear that? An agent for Christian golfers? That's crazy!! That can't ever happen. No way. Did I really just hear that?
So, I finished my prayer time and began to look for something else in golf that I might begin upon returning to the States.
An agent for Christian golfers, ha, go figure.
"Lord, is there any way You can help me find a ministry serving You and the Kingdom that happens to be golf related?"
He said, "You will be an agent for Christian golfers."
What? Did I just hear that? An agent for Christian golfers? That's crazy!! That can't ever happen. No way. Did I really just hear that?
So, I finished my prayer time and began to look for something else in golf that I might begin upon returning to the States.
An agent for Christian golfers, ha, go figure.
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