Finally, I had made it. After so many years, I succeeded, and when I turned around, nobody had seen it. Just the dogs had witnessed the “miracle, ” and they never tell. 

There is an old door at the back of my workshop; it has a small basketball hoop attached to it. One of the previous owners must have installed, and I never saw the need to take it off. It’s rather the opposite. This basketball hoop kept me well entertained. I am good at 1 and 2-pointers, but the 3-pointers from across the room, these were the ones I desired but could never make.

No matter how I crumbled the paper ball, it either didn’t fly long enough, or it flew in the right direction but wasn’t flying high enough. It was basketball hell.

But yesterday, everything was different. The paper ball must have had the right weight. I threw it long -and high enough- it sailed across the room and went through the hoop with ease. Oh, it felt so good. I raised my hands just like Rocky did, and I stood there with a big grin on my face. Finally!

I was alone, nobody had seen it. I felt disappointed but then I had to chuckle about myself, and the old joke about God’s perfect punishment came to my mind.

There was this preacher who was an avid golfer. Every chance he could get, he could be found on the golf course swinging away. It was an obsession. One Sunday was a picture perfect day for golfing. The sun was out, no clouds in the sky, and the temperature was just right. The preacher was in a quandary as to what to do, and shortly, the urge to play golf overcame him.

He called an assistant to tell him that he was sick and could not do church, packed the car up, and drove three hours to a golf course where no one would recognize him. Happily, he began to play the course.

An angel up above was watching the preacher and was quite perturbed.

He went to God and said, “Look at the preacher. He should be punished for what he is doing.”

God nodded in agreement. The preacher teed up on the first hole. He swung at the ball, and it sailed effortlessly through the air and landed right in the cup three hundred and fifty yards away (as they say in basketball, nothing but net). A picture perfect hole-in-one. He was amazed and excited.

The angel was a little shocked.

He turned to God and said, “Begging Your pardon, but I thought you were going to punish him.”

God smiled. “Think about it — who can he tell?”

And now I wonder what I did to deserve such a cruel punishment.

Or perhaps it’s not a punishment at all, just the realization that there is not need for bragging. Nah…I will tell everybody.

Unseen