Have you ever overslept? Who hasn’t?
But when was the last time doing so potentially caused you to miss out on a $10 million paycheck?
Professional golfer Jim Furyk overslept yesterday and missed his tee time at a pro-am event in New Jersey. He said he had set his alarm on his cell phone but didn’t realize its battery was low. The phone died overnight. Mr. Furyk woke up 7 minutes before he was scheduled to begin play.
Under PGA rules, missing the round made him ineligible for the tournament, which is the first of a four-part series with a grand prize payout of $10 million.
“I’m beside myself,” he said, his laces still dragging and untied. “I have a way of climbing into stupid situations.”
Ouch! It’s hard not to feel bad for the guy.
Perhaps this is a good story to share with our kids, especially as school starts up and body clocks begin to adjust to new routines.
“Don’t pull a Furyk!” could become a rallying cry for parents everywhere.
Or maybe not. It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it?
Dr. Kevin Leman mentioned on a recent Focus broadcast (Day 2) that the way to get our kids up in the morning is to be willing to leave them behind and force them to deal with the consequences of a late arrival to school.
I think that’s tough, but solid, advice.
Kids are bound to make mistakes. Adults too. In fact, somebody told me today about the 1896 United States Olympic team who thought they had arrived in Athens 12 days before the start to the games. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Greeks went by the Julian, not the Gregorian, calendar. There is a 12-day difference. So, fortunately (!), the United States team arrived just in the nick of time.
And Seinfeld aficionados might remember Jean-Paul Jean-Paul, a fictional marathon runner from Trinidad and Tobago. He had already overslept and missed the Olympics (Trivia: Why?) and Jerry was determined to get him to the start of the New York City Marathon on time. As luck would have it, Kramer’s new hot tub blew the electrical circuits in the building and Jean-Paul Jean-Paul overslept again.
A bit zany, but we laugh because everybody has found themselves in a similar situation, running against the clock, trying to redeem what was lost in the stupor of our sleep.
When it comes to truly appreciating my faith and the indescribable gift of God’s grace, sometimes I wonder if I’m not guilty of hitting the snooze and missing my appointment on that first tee some days. Sure, sometimes my batteries are low, too. Sometimes I’m in a major need of a recharge! But the Lord loves us and is interested in us and wants us to be interested in Him.
We need to check our batteries and make sure we’re alert and ready for what He has for us.
The good news is, of course, really great news. After all, despite a slip here and there in hitting the snooze, in Lamentations we read that God’s mercies are new each morning! So, just because you may have missed something this morning, tomorrow is always a new day.
Thankfully, the Christian life does not play by PGA rules.
By the way, do you have any memorable moments regarding missed appointments, missed flights, etc.?
I’d love to hear them.
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