My back hurts. It hurts all the time, every single day, and it has for many years now.
Sometimes the pain isn’t so bad. On those days I’m able to do my job, which I enjoy and I’m able to play the game of golf, which I love. On other days, I can barely move at all because of the pain. And it’s my own fault. Too many years of hard work and heavy lifting, mixed in with a couple of fairly spectacular motorcycle accidents when I was younger. “Go hard and go fast” was my motto back then. My motto now is “take it easy dumbass”!
Last week I spent some time with a friend of mine who is an outstanding golfer. He’s a single digit handicapper, a former winner of his club championship, and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He graciously agreed to give me some tips on my short game and chipping, which I sorely need. I haven’t seen him in a long time because he has been undergoing chemo-therapy treatments, for the second time. His weight is down 40 pounds, and he feels sick most of the time, and yet he is willing to show up for me… to help me out. All I could think of was… I wish there was something I could do to help him out.
We talked about golf most of the time, while chipping and pitching at the practice green at Coto Golf Course. He smiled a lot and we laughed and joked at lot because hey… we’re golf bros and golf isn’t easy. But then again, neither is life sometimes.
When we finished and went back to the parking lot, I hugged him. As I drove away and headed back home, I cried. Here is a good man, a loving husband and father, and good friend to so many people, who is in real pain, life altering pain, and yet he is not afraid. But I am afraid… for him, and I can’t do a damn thing about it. So I have been praying, every day, and I give it to God.
Two important things occurred to me this morning about the time I spent with my friend. First, I never once thought about my back pain the whole time we were together. It just didn’t seem important anymore. Second, was what he said to me in the parking lot before leaving. “When you know who stands beside you on the path that you walk, fear is impossible.”
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