Yes, believe it or not, apparently golf is on the docket … along with many, many other things!
But, first ….
What’s the deal with golf … ?
I’ve made the point in the past that spirit contact seems to arise in situations that are particularly meaningful to the “spirit person” and/or to the “human person” they’re trying to communicate with.
As I’ve written in previous posts, I’ve noticed examples of my deceased husband, Ron, reaching out to me from the Other Side at various times, but especially related to things that were particularly meaningful to both of us … our “fur-kids,” the wooden calendar, Christmas.
Well, golf most definitely belongs on this list … and it’s offered its share of opportunities for spirit communication! But not just run-of-the-mill, “Hi, I’m still here” kinds of messages.
Nooo … this has been much more “active” communication!
The golfing connection …
Ron was a lifetime golfer, and I eventually took it up some years after we married. We came to an agreement … I’d learn to play golf if he would learn to play bridge, a fascinating and complex card game, I told him.
I have to say, his learning to play bridge was as painful a journey for him as learning to play golf was for me (not to mention the “fun” we each had on the receiving end of the other’s learning frustrations … NOT!). But, we both stuck with it and, amazingly, reached a … hmm, let’s say “respectable” level of proficiency.
As for golf, it became a passion for the two of us. We played a few times every week during the summer and planned many vacations around it. Ron was much better than I, but I held my own.
We were one of those seemingly rare couples who actually preferred to golf together, and we had some of our happiest and most memorable times doing so.
Learning to play as a single …
The year Ron died from pancreatic cancer, 2007, golf had been virtually absent from our lives, for obvious reasons. The prospect of picking it up again without him was … well, not a prospect I relished, but I knew it was something I needed to do. You know, get back up on the horse and all that. So, I played a couple of rounds in the fall, then waited until spring.
After my prolonged absence from the links, I went from being able to shoot in the 90’s fairly frequently, to averaging well over 100 … and scoring as high as 124 that spring.
Wow, 124! Isn’t such a high score cause for celebration, you ask? Hah! You’d think so, wouldn’t you? In almost every other game it is … but not so in golf.
For the uninitiated, the objective is to get the little ball into the hole with as few swings of the club as possible … there are 18 of these holes in a full round. The average recreational golfer has difficulty finishing in under 100 strokes. Golfing professionals usually require about 70 strokes.
Given my past performance, shooting 124 was rather demoralizing …. However, I carried on and in late spring, made a trip home to Saskatoon to see Mom and Dad, with golf clubs in tow.
Ron “plays through” …
Something Ron and I had always looked forward to on summer trips to Saskatoon was to play a round or two with Dad at his private golf club. It was a special opportunity we both cherished.
As might be expected, my first time doing this without him was emotional … not yet nine months since he had died and I missed him terribly. It was one of those particularly special occasions that intensified the ache in my heart, making me even more acutely aware of his absence. But off I went … hoping Ron might be close by … somewhere.
And then something odd happened during the round ….
My swing was smooth, the shots were straight, putts went in … so much so, in fact, that I was shaking my head throughout the round, trying to make sense of it. Because, you see, I’m just not that good!
By the end of the round, I’d shot a score I’d never seen in my golfing life before. In fact, it’s still a career best … 85.
I wasn’t sure quite what to make of it, but started to realize that not only had Ron shown up for this occasion, but the support he’d lent me was more than just moral support. To be honest, it was kind of like he’d been the one swinging the club ….
That idea was actually quite appealing … I loved the possibilities! You know, every round, I could just let Ron “play through”!
Hmm, apparently not. Three days later, my next round, also with Dad, was 117. It appeared Ron had handed me back the clubs! LOL.
But his help did continue …
I believe Ron continued to show up periodically throughout that golf season as I returned to active play. Not quite as dramatically, perhaps, but he was there.
I remember one “Ladies Day” at my golf club in Fairwinds. I was warming up on the putting green before my round and I smelled his pipe tobacco. I’d learned this was one of his signs … see “Merry Christmas, Love Ron” … and it definitely caught my attention.
I went on to shoot a 91 … including a career-best 41 on nine holes. (Apparently, he was only in for nine holes that day and let me tackle the other nine on my own!)
And toward the end of the season, as I warmed up on the practice green for the first round of the Club Championship … always an intimidating event … I decided to be proactive about it and made a silent request for “help” with my round.
As I walked to the first tee box, I found a dime on the sidewalk … another sign I’d come to understand (“Spirit’s Communication Grows Richer”).
I shot 99 in that round. Believe me, for me in a club championship tournament, that was a very decent score!
So, this was a new take on his showing up in my life. I already knew Ron could communicate to reassure me of his ongoing existence, but this was different … he was actually reaching out to help in a more “physical” way.
Obviously, this wasn’t something he could have done quite in the same way if he were still “here,” so being on the receiving end of this was … well, kind of intriguing. You know, a tiny silver lining to him being in the non-physical world, I suppose. (Yes, yes, infinitesimally tiny, but still ….)
If you’ve lost a loved one, keep an eye out for “help” appearing when you need it or ask for it. I’ve often heard it said that, sometimes our loved ones really can help us better, in whatever it is we’re doing, from “over there” ….
But the even more interesting discovery was learning that Ron’s golfing activity “over there” wasn’t ONLY about supporting me “over here” ….
Stay tuned for Part 2.
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