You probably noticed golf this past weekend.
Maybe you were glued to every moment of the Masters Tournament and couldn’t take your eyes away from the precision, the skill, and every launch monitor that the golfers had to help them go as far as possible in the tournament. On the other hand, maybe you care nothing about golf and just caught a mention somewhere on the news. But most of us know something special happened Sunday in the world of golf.
Few individuals command that kind of attention, but Tiger Woods has always stood apart.
Everyone has their own take on his story. At his peak, the best golfer ever. Derailed by very public moral failings. Literally crippled by injuries that would normally end any hope of playing golf.
For me, Wood’s story is a demonstration of grace and forgiveness wrapped around the power of following a God-sized dream. Lots of folks wrote him off as another entitled bad-guy athlete deserving contempt and condemnation. But that’s the thing about grace – the people who need it are the very people who don’t deserve it. People like me.
So while many piled on and celebrated his struggles, a few close friends hung with him, encouraged him not to give up. Even when injuries and surgeries made it difficult to stand, they helped Tiger keep his eye on the dream of playing the game he loved.
This Sunday, 22 years after his first Masters win, he hugged his young son at the end of a long, difficult journey. A man known throughout his career for grit, determination, and focus finally relaxed. And smiled. And shared his joy.
I love this story. I love it because Tiger Woods followed a dream most people thought was crazy. He kept going when it made no sense, when it would’ve made more sense to quit.
What’s your big dream? If a guy with a fused spine can win the Masters, and a guy in a wheelchair can crank a handcycle 1500 miles…what’s keeping you from following your dream?