Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.
Is your March Madness tournament bracket already busted? Are you deep into Monday Moaning?
The Basketball Shot Heard Around the World
It was Monday Moaning night.
A three-pointer at the buzzer! It was as dramatic as it sounds! Instant ESPN Top Ten!
The fans were on their feet. It was the last minute of the third game of the season when Kyle introduced himself to the Tulsa Hurricane fans in his first college basketball game.
With fifteen seconds left in the game, Kyle stole the ball and instinctively passed it to Travis streaking to the goal. The missed lay-up was rebounded by the opponent’s defender who threw it towards mid-court. Kyle intercepted it.
In one continuous motion, Kyle stole the ball, took one dribble, and launched his shot toward the basket just as the buzzer sounded.
It was just like in the movies as everything seemed to move into slow motion. Kyle’s release was beautiful as the ball rotated off his follow through. It was everything he had dreamed about…
Nothing but the swish of the net!
Kyle jumped up and down. Teammates slapped him on the back and his family was delirious with joy.
Kyle’s buzzer-beating shot made the victory margin forty-seven points. That is correct. It was a blowout win. The fans on their feet continued to make their way to the exits.
That first three-pointer was not the only highlight of Kyle’s on-court contribution to his first successful Hurricane season. His team won the conference championship and made a post-season advance to the March Madness Sweet Sixteen.
Make the most of your time! That mantra flooded Kyle’s mind and fueled his motivation. Make the most of your time…on the basketball court and in life.
It became a life lesson to be shared with others. Always do your best. Never quit. Make your time count.
Every weekend in March finds half the college basketball teams and their coaches and fans in Monday Moaning, wondering about what might have been.
Are your Monday Moanings about what might have been? What might have been never existed and it never will.
Do you make the most of your time? Could you do better this next time? Will you do better?
Carpe Diem! That is the Latin phrase for “Seize the Day!” (Literally, “pluck the day when it is ripe”).
It was used by the Roman poet, Horace, in the first century BC times and then became a popular English expression generated by Lord Byron in his 1800’s Letters. The idiom was the title of the American poem by Robert Frost in the last century.
Be happy today. Look for opportunities in life and make the most of them.
This Monday Moaning moment is not about seizing opportunities for selfish purposes or pleasures. It is not an exhortation to seek riches, rewards, promotions, or earthly applause.
This Monday Moaning reminder is about one purpose for one day. Love First and Love Most.
I hope you are far ahead in your Love first and love most totals. Like the sweet sound of the basketball swishing through the net, it is still exciting to do it again and again.
If you are behind or in a bind, make your time count. The calendar slows for no one. This is as far back as you can get, and still come out a winner. Take the next shot. Love First. Love Most.
I once challenged some young coaches to finish strong in life, noting that none of us knows how much time we have left in this earthly life. I acknowledged that I was pretty sure I was in the fourth quarter.
My dad stood up to close our session with prayer. His opening remark was, “If Rex is in the fourth quarter, then I am in overtime.”
My dad made the most of his time, throughout the game of life and into overtime. Dad went to heaven a winner, encouraging all of us to take our love to a higher level.
Why has my game been extended into overtime? So, I could encourage you this Monday Moaning.
This is your moment to contribute to God’s team. There is a heavenly purpose for why God placed you around that person. This is your time to shine.
Our family has a saying: If you have just one minute left to live, hope that it is the last minute of a close basketball game. It will feel as if it lasts forever.
That’s right. Clock stoppage for foul shots, timeouts, TV commercials, injuries, substitutions, coaching strategy, referee discussions, replays, clock resets. There might even be overtime.
Here is a Monday Moaning verse directly from the words of Jesus about seizing the day.
“Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34).
Jesus preceded this encouragement with counsel not to worry about the less important things of life. God will take care of us just as He does the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields. We are of far more value. Live for God’s purpose.
This Monday Moaning is not a call to reflect on all our missed opportunities. Those times are gone.
Monday Moaning is not about past regrets or future worries. It is about today.
Start every Monday Moaning with a reminder to make loving God by loving others the primary focus of your life.
This is the week to seize your God-given opportunities to Love First and Love Most. The clock is ticking down. Make the most of your time.
Every relationship matters. Every moment matters. Every opportunity matters.
Seize the Day! Prepare your heart and mind to see the opportunity. Then seize the moment!
For all of us, it is the right time to love first and love most.
Right now, this Monday Moaning, take the shot!
Always do your best. Never quit. Make your time count.
The ball is tipped
And there you are
You’re running for your life
You’re a shooting star
And all the years
No one knows
Just how hard you worked
But now it shows…
(in) One Shining Moment, it’s all on the line
One Shining Moment, there frozen in time
And when it’s done
Win or lose
You always did your best
Cuz inside you knew…
(that) One Shining Moment, you reached for the sky
One Shining Moment, you knew
One Shining Moment, you were willing to try
One Shining Moment, you knew
One Shining Moment….
—One Shining Moment, David Barrett
No one sings it like Luther Vandross
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 