Practice

Dear God,

It's 2 in the morning, so this letter may be a little shorter than usual.

Oddly enough, I've been thinking about golf.

I used to play a lot. At one point I got pretty good. This year, though, I've only played four times, all within the last six weeks. Between those rounds I've probably swung a golf club around 350 times. Three eighteen-hole rounds and one nine-hole round. I usually shoot somewhere around fifty for nine holes. That doesn't make me a great golfer, but someone I was playing with said something interesting.

He told me my percentage of good shots compared to my total swings was actually pretty high. I just needed to play more.

That simple comment made me think about You.

The more I practice golf, the better golfer I become.

The more I practice walking with You, the more I begin to reflect You.

The more I talk to You, the more I notice Your presence. The more I practice grace, the more I recognize the grace You've shown me. The more I choose humility, or witness it in others, the more natural humility becomes in my own life.

Maybe that's how so much of faith works.

Not because we're earning anything, but because we're learning to live in step with You.

I know we've talked before about pride. I still think it's connected to so many things. Maybe it really is at the root of so much of our separation from You. But I'll save that conversation for another letter.

Lately I've been trying to be more intentional with my time.

I just finished Finding the Right Hills to Die On, and it reminded me of something I've believed for a long time. Your Church is so much bigger than the things we often argue about. Music styles. Traditions. Even important doctrines that faithful believers have wrestled with for centuries.

There are truths worth standing firmly on, but not every disagreement needs to become a battle.

I think about someone sitting in a prison cell who comes to know You just before their execution. Maybe they never had the opportunity to be baptized. I have a hard time believing You would turn away someone whose heart truly belongs to You because circumstances kept them from taking that next step.

I'm grateful for books that make me think without making me angry.

This week I also started Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm already fascinated. The author began by sincerely seeking Allah. He asked honest questions, and somehow those questions eventually led him to You.

That encourages me.

It reminds me that honest questions aren't the enemy of faith. Sometimes they're the very path that leads someone home.

It also makes me think about identity.

I find mine in You because You created me in Your image. But so many people have never heard that. Others have been taught something entirely different. I pray You continue drawing them toward Yourself, one question at a time, just as You continue doing with me.

That's really all I wanted to say tonight.

I should probably be asleep. In about three hours another day will begin, and I'll have another chance to practice.

Thank You for everything You continue to do in my life.

Help me pray better.

There are so many people on my heart right now. I know You hear millions of prayers every moment, but I'm thankful that none of them get lost in the crowd.

Thank You for hearing mine too.

Your son.