The Clank

(Photo by ABNCPARTIES.COM)

I, along with my wife and my two oldest children, joined millions of others in watching the Duke vs. Butler NCAA Men’s Championship basketball game. It was a great game, in doubt to the very end.

We held our breath as Gordon Hayward (who looks like an old friend of mine named Joe Don Ridgell) launched a mid-court shot. The shot banked off the square on the glass… and bounced off the rim—making an incredibly loud sound of “CLANK”.

Victory was so close! So much so, CBS replayed the last shot several times.

Had Hayward’s shot gone in, Butler would have pulled off one of the greatest upsets in history, winning by the score of 62-61. Had the shot gone in, it would have conceivably become the greatest shot in basketball history. Unfortunately (unless you were pulling for Duke), the shot clanked.

Reflecting this morning, I could not help but think Hayward represents the majority of us. For most of us, the best we will experience in our respective fields is getting close enough to clank. Very few of us win the "National Championship”—see Colt McCoy.

What do we do with the clank? One response would be to choose to live our entire lives in misery or sadness, thinking we can only really enjoy our lives the day we win the "Championship." But I wonder, could it be that God places higher value on other experiences available to us all?

I dare to believe the answer is—yes.