I just got finished coaching a women’s High School Basketball game. Our girls literally got beat by 1 point from the opponents last second shot that went in with 2 seconds left in the game. Its one of the hardest losses I’ve ever experienced in my 35 out of 48 years of being heavily involved in competitive basketball.
In all those years, I have never blamed a loss on refs…until tonight. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like I was stuck in the Twilight Zone. I’ve never thought that somebody would pay the refs for a win, until tonight. I know the team that won didn’t pay the refs. That’s laughable…but I kid you not it seemed like it. For 3 of the 4 quarters our girls played 5 against 7 on that hardwood court. These two refs had to literally run out of the game at the buzzer, and were escorted out of the gym for protection. It was terrible. All around. The whole thing seemed like such an injustice. Anger was everywhere. Disappointment. Hurt. Screaming. Out of control.
It’s now a couple hours since the game ended. I got home and just couldn’t shake it. Frustrated to no end. Angry. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I did what I could only do. I went outside on this Saturday night, and went over my sermon notes for tomorrow’s message at Christ’s Church of Fountain Hills. As I began to pour over my notes, and think about what I was going to say, a greater emotion came over me and overruled my basketball emotion. I was instantly shaken back into “reality of priority.”
Oh, don’t get me wrong…women’s High School basketball matters. I believe it is great training for real world stuff and life. Teamwork, injustices, practice, hard work, playing against time, having critics and circumstances always fighting our trajectory of up and to the right in life, wins and losses. So tonight’s terrible results and circumstances in the game of basketball do matter…they do have a priority in life. I just talked to our lady athletes yesterday about how basketball and life are a lot alike. Here are my notes from that short talk.
As I started going through my sermon notes and watching the video testimonies we are going to watch at Church, I was settled down by a higher priority. My sermon for tomorrow…It was written by me, FOR ME. I’m still upset at the ridiculousness I experienced in tonight’s basketball game…but I can’t wait for tomorrow. There is no greater priority than the work we do in the lives of people. My sermon tomorrow is going to be freaking awesome for myself and so many others. I believe with everything in me, that people are going to have a lightbulb come on in their lives due to this message. They are going to be better because of the higher priority I am choosing to let motivate my attention and focus.
If you are like me, then you too have had things happen recently that have caused you to get your priorities out of order. If this is true for you, like it is for me, then I ask you to get into God’s Word, watch an inspirational video about life change, focus on Heaven and Hell. Think about the end of your life and then work backwards right to where you are as you read this. Everything in life matters…even basketball. But not everything is of the same value and priority. There will always be something/someone that causes our priorities to become imbalanced. Life is hard. Disappointment waits at every turn in your life. When this happens, I pray that you will practice extreme self discipline by pausing and hitting shuffle on your priority set. Take a deep breath. Don’t allow yourself to be the number one priority in your life. Feel your emotions. Acknowledge the emotions you are feeling. But be careful about obeying those emotions. They will not always tell you the truth…or at least the highest priority truth.
I can’t wait for tomorrow. I can’t wait to preach a message that I am fully confident is going to be a mile marker moment in many people’s lives. I pray that you have something in your life that helps you prioritize with truth and facts…not just emotions. If you don’t have anything in your life that will help you prioritize your life…I hope you will reach out to me and let me walk with you until you get your priorities in the right order. Its very difficult to keep your priorities in order on your own. Contact me. Let’s team together to restructure your priority list. My email address is [email protected].
Good God Almighty…I love the game of basketball. I hate what happened tonight. I’m so grateful I had something tonight to help me get prioritized in my thoughts, and help me get out of my feelings. What do you have in your life that can help you do the same? Getting our priorities ordered is arguably the most important thing in your life. Think about it. If I can help you, please ask. Seriously I’d be grateful. I’m finally, after 48 years of wins and losses, getting good at it.