a wee testimony

the "wee" is a result of my trip to Ireland...it has become a part of my vocabulary now...as has the word "brilliant" and "proper" as in "proper tea". and "brilliant" is highly underused here. i used to only use it before words like "idea" or "mind", but it can be so much more. thanks to my British friend, Jay, who now lives in Ireland, "brilliant" is my new favorite adjective. you can use it to describe anything, and not just diamonds...even things like "brilliant running shoes". the list could go on forever. it is a great word. which brings me to my word...my testimony for the day. sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day to be living in the ATL. it was one of those days that makes you glad you live here. the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. it was cool enough to be a bit chilly in the shade, but standing in the warm sun felt ...brilliant. it was one of those rare, shorts with a long sleeve shirt kind of days. so i got to play golf. another rarity in my life these days. a sport i love, but rarely get to play now. i am playing golf, standing at the tee box, leaning up against my club (see brilliant Figure 1). all of a sudden a ball comes soaring through the air, zooms past my friends faces and through my arm, under my elbow, in that small triangle created by my leaning against my club, and keeps going. i could not believe it! it went under my arm! was inches from pegging me...hard! this isn't tennis, where it stings a bit and you walk it off. this tiny hard ball came from 200 yards away, hit hard by some guy who rared back and hit it as hard as he could. i was in complete shock that it went under my arm and between my rib cage and my golf club. even before my brain could comprehend it, my knees became weak and my joints like spaghetti. that could have hurt. bad. it was just second nature to look up to the sky and thank God in Heaven that i was not hurt. so i did. even the next morning i was thinking about what a certain miracle that was. that those things are not just chance or happenstance or luck. there is a God in Heaven who works supernaturally to protect us and watch over us. on my drive into work the next morning i just kept thanking Him for protecting me. i thought too about all those times i have gotten hurt and wondered why He didn't protect me then. the answer to that is one of life's biggest questions, why people die, why people have cancer and sickness and pain and disease...it is a result of this life. not of our sins. that battle has been fought and won a long time ago by our Savior on the cross. we live in a world where gravity is a reality and we get hurt. trying to explain why is impossible. all i know is that God protected me that day and that that ball coulda hurt. so i just simply began to thank Him, genuinely, truly thank Him, and i heard Him say, "I love to protect you, I love to supernaturally protect you, but I love it even more when you recognize that I do".