March Madness is in full tilt and the excitement is greater than ever.  The level and intensity of the players makes watching the games compelling.  It is entertainment at its best and the conversations between people are a welcome diversion from politics, terrorism and an uncertain economy.  While traveling recently I had conversations with complete strangers about the games, brackets, and staying up later than usual to watch teams we knew little or nothing about.

Last Second Shots

As teams move through the brackets the competition gets better because the better team are playing each other.  The most exciting games are those won and lost on last second shots.  I cannot help sitting on the edge of my seat watching to see who will win.  The joy of winning and the grief of losing make the drama of the tournament some of the best television money can buy.

Life and Basketball

While watching one of the games recently I could not help but think how important just one second is when the score of a game is tied and two teams are facing the possibility of elimination from the tournament if that second is lost in any way.  The teams that win are those that take care of the seconds they have.  The teams that lose often make mistakes, fail to concentrate or foul at the worst time.

Life can be just like that.  We only have a certain amount of time allotted to live and although we expect that we have time enough to do what we like and live a long time doing it, we cannot be exactly sure.  Just knowing time is running means that it is running out.  Because it is running out every second, every moment, every hour, every day, every month, every year counts.  Every measure of time counts and everything in those measures count.  Everything in life within every second we live is critical.

The Psalmist prayerfully wrote, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” (90:12)

As you enjoy March Madness don’t forget that every second of your life is important and everything in every second is important.