And lo, I am with you always. – Matthew 28:20

I love how the Lord works.  He has taken so many what would seem like “small” instances in my life and turned them into lessons that I’ll never forget.  When He says, “I am with you always,” He means it!  For the last 3 weeks, I’ve been on a little mini preaching tour.  Man, did He ever show up!  These atmospheres were created that I just did not want to leave. It had to be at least a .1% taste of heaven.  Any time God’s people are hungry and thirsty for Him, He is going to come down and fill them.  But, what about the small life moments?  Can this type of presence be felt in those?  What does it look like when He show up for those moments?  After all, the verse says that He is with us always, not just when we are in church.

Several months ago, I decided that my family would hold our own Sunday services right here in the house.  Those were held in the evenings.  The kids would normally sleep in and Tonya and I were the early risers watching services online in the morning.  One particular Sunday, I decided to go play golf bright and early in the morning before I watched an online service.  I have a history of playing very poorly on Sundays because I feel so guilty that I’m playing on the Lord’s day.  It’s like I feel like I’m hiding what I’m doing from Him, yet I know He is right there.  It’s like I disconnect from Him and hope He will look elsewhere for a few hours.  It is a very weird feeling.  This Sunday was no exception.

So, I was standing on number 13 fairway waiting to hit my approach shot.  Here is what I heard from miles away:

Hallelujah Thine the glory

Hallelujah Amen

Hallelujah Thine the glory

Revive us again

It was so majestic.  Standing there, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.  It was like I just breathed Him in.  No judgment.  No “I caught you Adam!”  It was more like He said, “Adam, why won’t you ever let me play golf with you?”  I had no answer.  I felt about two centimeters tall.  Why had I taken my Christianity back to my teenage years when I felt like God couldn’t wait to zap me for every wrong?

Since this moment, my awareness of God in the most mundane of moments has increased at least twofold.  Until this moment, when I’d play golf, I was a tense mess.  I would try so hard and just be exhausted at the end of every round.  Now, it is like I enjoy everything.  The good shots, the bad shots, just being out there with both my earthly dad and my Heavenly Father . . . everything.  Sometimes I just give Him my body and let Him hit one . . . He’s pretty good!  We joke around and we laugh.  I can’t believe it could have been like this all along.  As an unbelievable added bonus, I’m shooting these ridiculously low scores.

My lifelong goal is to live a day where I am 100% aware of His Presence 100% of the time.  I don’t want this to happen because I stayed home and read the Bible and prayed all day.  I want it to happen because I lived my everyday life.  Maybe I worked all day, then hung out with my family, and then just did normal everyday stuff.  But, while I did that stuff, I was just very aware that He was right there with me.  He and I just enjoyed every moment together.  I can’t help but believe this golf experience just brought me one step closer.

Whatever it is you are doing today . . . invite Him to be a part of it.  It will be so much better.

He is with you always.