I whizzed by our local golf course on my bike. As I passed the first hole, I waved and said, “Hi, Alex.”

The young man on the green looked up and said, “I’m Adam.”

Blast! I did it again.

I know Adam. I know Alex. They’re brothers.

One plays golf. The other baseball. And I know which plays where.

So my first clue to the young man’s identity was where I saw him standing—on a golf course. I needed no other clue to call out the right name.

As I continued my ride, I thought about the ONE. Now stay with me on this. I know you may be wondering how in the world I went from getting a teenager’s name wrong to thinking about the ONE. I’m not entirely nuts. Not entirely.

With Adam, I had plenty of time to process the data. I know Adam plays on the golf team. I know the golf team practices at the local golf course. Although both Adam and Alex have similar features—tall, thin, wearers of glasses—only Adam plays on the golf team.

I spotted him from a couple hundred yards away. I may have been blazing (yeah, right) but I still had plenty of time to figure things out.

I didn’t. And I blew the name thing. Again!

But what does that have to do with the ONE?

Well, after I got through the mental tail whuppin’, I started thinking about where we expect to meet the ONE. I expect to see Adam on the golf course. I expect to see Alex at the baseball diamond. But where do I expect to see the ONE?

Church? On occasion.

In the mountains? Among the stars? Against the backdrop of a diamond-blue sky? Among the pristine forests of a wilderness? In the coo of doves? Or the cry of a healthy newborn? Or the love of a good woman?

Sure! I expect the ONE in the beautiful places and the happy moments of life.

I’m no more surprised to find Him there than I am to find Adam on the golf course. He’s where He should be.

But I’ve boxed Him in and relegated HIM to certain areas of my life. And you can’t treat the ONE like Raisin Bran. He refuses—REFUSES! (sorry to shout, but He does refuse)—to stay in the box.

The ONE tends to show up everywhere. A sporting event (cue the John 3:16 sign here). A reality show.

By the way, the ONE does not care one whit about the final score or the million dollars. He’s always about intimacy, integrity, truth, and character, to name a few important issues.

The ONE shows up at weddings, christenings, funerals, celebrations, disasters, spring openings, winter closings. He shows up in life.

He’s never missed a moment. He’s never somewhere else. The ONE is present here and now (wherever and whenever that may be).

Think about this for just one moment.

The ONE has never missed a Super Bowl, a World Series, an NBA championship, a World Cup, the Masters, a Broadway opening, the Academy Awards, a royal wedding, a presidential inauguration…

I could make the list a lot longer and I know you could add to the list with better ideas than mine. You really could. But you get my point.

So let’s get more specific, more personal.

The ONE has never missed…

Your birthday.

Your dance recital.

Your ball game.

Your first kiss.

Your senior prom.

Your graduation.

Your first day on the new job.

Your last day at the old one.

Your move.

Your big award ceremony.

Your moment of laughter.

Your moment of tears.

Your heartbreak.

Your celebration.

Your disaster.

Your delight.

The ONE bursts out of our little boxes and shows up in unexpected places, everywhere, all the time.

And the ONE travels with us on the JOURNEY until the day we get HOME.

Special assignment: Help me on this one. Sharpen my point by sharing your moment when the ONE showed up at an unexpected time in an unexpected place. You’ll make a lot of people’s day if you do. Okay, for sure, you’ll make mine.