“The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” -Psalm 46:11
We are getting closer to a time in the college basketball world known as March Madness. Teams are starting to wrap up their regular seasons, some in hopes of winning a conference championship and also to get a bid in the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament. There are 64 teams that are put into a bracket and over the course of a few weeks, these games are played, and teams can advance to the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four, and finally the Championship game. I enjoy watching college basketball, especially during the time of the tournament. It can be fun to make your own bracket predictions. There are always more than a few upsets when a lower ranked team beats a team ranked higher than them. Every team always brings their best, and it’s exciting to see what can happen in 40 minutes of basketball play.
My favorite part of the tournament is at the end of the championship game and the song “One Shining Moment” is played with video clips from throughout the tournament games. I love the way the video producers connect the video clips to particular lyrics of the song. I look forward to this tradition of the tournament. For me, whether I have kept up with several games and teams or even if I haven’t watched very much, it never fails to make me tear up. It’s a powerfully emotional song that is able to show just a few seconds a team or a player, but there is a connection to much more of the story, moment, or feelings. You see the ups and downs of winning and losing. You see effort from the players, and you know that there has been much more hard work and stories behind each and every clip. The words of the song are pretty simple, but they connect each and every time to a greater meaning to the hard work that sports like basketball entail. It’s so much more than basketball, it can inspire us about life. We are connected into something greater than what we have seen and heard into just a few minutes of a song and video.
Through this music, we may remember our own stories, whether we were involved in athletics at some point or not. We all experience ups and downs of life. We face defeat and we also have reasons to celebrate. We have put in hard work to accomplish goals, and we remember particular times in our life that stand out above others, a more defining and shining moment. As people of faith, we can have hope knowing that through all of the experiences we face in life, God is present with us. He gives us gifts to share with the world, cheers us on, gives us pep talks, and wipes our tears in our times that we feel defeated. But don’t let any one moment define you or your life. Let God’s light shine in your life and let Him inspire you to live your life to the full.
Amy Givens, Director of Youth Ministry
