On the night of December 30th, I noticed 3 of my friends did not come to work, a sign of layoffs after the Christmas season. Recognizing the situation, one of the full time employees congratulated me as our shift began saying, “Hey, you made the cut; now you have a few months to prove what you can do!” At 12 midnight, the usual bell signaled our lunch break, a mid-night snack to mark the first few minutes of New Years Eve 2012. As I sat down, I felt pretty good, examining in my mind what it meant to keep my job and why I was chosen over several other qualified individuals. Just when I thought I knew the mind of God, I was forced to take the walk of shame, with 2 other temps, escorted out of the building 4 hours later. I felt as if God was saying, “Oh no you don’t,” like His words to Job beginning in Job 38:2.
Unfortunately, sometimes you can read too much into every day events. However, there are moments in history where God clearly does not want you to succeed so He will lead you into His perfect will, Romans 12:2. Such is the case when I thought I was going to be a P.G.A. teaching professional 16 years ago. The first step to meet this goal was to pass the players ability test, known as the P.A.T. by assistant golf pros. The objective is to shoot a set score or lower for 36 holes based upon the difficulty of the course, known as the slope. On the 6,600 yard, par 72 links style layout in Chicago, I had to shoot 155. I played a practice round a week before this tournament so I could develop a game plan as well as get use to the speed of the huge greens. Due to the numerous water hazards, I decided to leave my driver behind, playing all 36 holes with my 3 medal.
On a windy day in July, 50 assistants set out to break through early in the morning for an 8 hour grind of endurance and nerves to demonstrate their golfing skills. Despite a chili-dip on the second hole, a penalty stroke, 5 3-putts and a 4 putt, I still shot 79 on the first 18 holes, needing only a 76 to earn my player’s card. I began the second round with a flurry, 1 under through 4 holes. Despite another ball in the water and double bogey, I only needed to card a 37 to complete my journey on the final 9. Two more 3 putts, one for par and 5 missed birdie putts under 10 feet led me to shoot 157, 2 shy of the mark. Only 4 assistants fulfilled their dreams on this day, one of whom was in my group. In fact, like the Amazon employee above, he said after the round, “I can’t believe you didn’t make it!”
Looking back on this day, it was as if God put a lid over the hole so my ball would not drop in. This failure eventually led me to Delaware for an amazing 10 years of coaching high school golf and teaching the Bible to middle and high school students. While I am far from comprehending the mind of God, I do know from personal experience that the Lord uses road blocks to divert individuals toward the right city, church or occupation. Although the apostle Paul really wanted to visit the province of Asia in Acts 16:6-7, the Holy Spirit had other plans for his ministry, stopping him in his tracks. Likewise, as I wrestle through another setback in life, I’m waiting for God to change His tune from “Oh no you don’t to I’d been waiting for your arrival!”
By Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 