In the movie Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius, there's a scene in which the U. S. Open champion Walter Hagan plays against the younger Bobby Jones. Although he has an erratic swing and seems error prone, Hagan runs away with the match. Afterwards, he confides in Jones: "I don't always hit the ball straight, but you know what I've learned? Three bad shots and one good one still make par. Golf is a game of recovery."

This simple but profound observation was dramatically illustrated at the 2005 Masters Tournament when Tiger Woods, after a notably poor first round, made a remarkable recovery to win golf's most coveted championship. And it's not just golf. It's true in all sports. We've watched college basketball's "March Madness" where every year several seemingly impossible comebacks occur. Or take 2004’s Boston Red Sox? After losing the first three games of their league championship series with the N.Y. Yankees, they were trailing in game four with only three outs standing between them and the end of their season. But they recovered. They came back to win that game, and, shockingly, the next three as well. In stunning the Yankees, they became the first team in baseball history to recover from an 0-3 deficit in a league championship and win four straight to claim the title (and eventually the World Series).

Sports fans can talk for hours about amazing comebacks. But the principle seems applicable across a broad range of life's experiences. Since Sound Mind Investing is a financial newsletter, let's move the conversation in that direction. Of course, stewardship (and the investing duties that come with it) is not a game. It's quite serious. When we handle this responsibility well, we help further God's kingdom as well as earn "Well done!" praise and eternal rewards from our Savior. But, like athletes, because we don't carry out our duties with perfection, we can fall behind where we know we need to be. Few of us, this writer included, can look back at a lifetime of spending, investing, and giving decisions and be totally pleased with our performance.

Perhaps you've not gotten control of your spending, and consequently have a debt hill (or mountain!) to climb. Or that area may be doing pretty well, but you don't have much in the way of savings. Or you have some savings set aside in an IRA or 401(k) account, but admittedly you haven't done a great job of choosing the investments that are best for you at this stage of your life.