Being at Our Best in Crunch Time

Michael Jordan over Bryon Russell, 1998 NBA Finals

I apologize for not writing anything last week.  The summer has been pretty busy so far.  This past week I went to the Mormon History Association's annual conference, where I presented a paper, and then the next day went to a much more exciting meeting in which my nephew Max was given a name and a blessing.

This will be a pretty short post, but hopefully it will have something of use.  Today as I've been working I came to a realization that the useful stuff I am looking for is almost always on the last reel of several films of microfilm, and very rarely and conveniently on the first reel of film.  Life is much like this.  Rarely do we find exactly what we are looking for in the first place that we look.  Rarely do the answers to perplexing questions come with the first prayer we offer.  Indeed, it is rare for such answers to come with even the second or the third or even the fourth prayer.

This all reminded me of sports.  As a sports fan, games that come down to the wire are as good as it gets.  It is the Hail Mary and the last second field goal in a football game; the half court shot right before the buzzer in a basketball game; the walk off home run at the end of a baseball game; and the impossible 50 foot put on the 18th green that just drops in for an eagle that make sports exciting and memorable.  But when my team, BYU, is involved, few things are more nerve wracking than the end of the game situations where it is do or die.  The reason is because there is a game on the line and it could really go either way.  Few things are more painful for a sports fan than to have the other team make that last second shot that becomes a classic to win the game.  This reminded me of Michael Jordan's epic shot over Bryon Russell in the 1998 NBA finals, a year in which it finally seemed that the Jazz had put it all together.  Jordan and the Bulls one the game and the series, and the shot went down in history.

But there is something valuable here for us.  When Jordan hit that shot, it was all or nothing and it was at the end of the game.  The thing that made Michael Jordan great was not the shots he hit in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd quarters.  It wasn't even the shots he hit with 10 minutes left in the 4th.  The thing that made him great was the shot at the end of the game, the moments when he had to be at his best to win and he was.  I'm not a Michael Jordan fan, but I can't help but respect how he always seemed to be at his best when it mattered the most.

Each of us will come to times in our life when we must get through serious trials so that we can be at our best in the moments when it matters most.  The answers and experiences that will change our lives, that will form lasting memories, will almost always come after "an effectual struggle" (Mosiah 7:18) has been made.  If we, in those moments can be at our best, can endure the earlier challenges to get to our defining moments, we will find that blessings come to those who wait and prepare and then rise to the occasion when the opportunity to shine presents itself.  It is certainly not easy or simple to patiently endure, but blessings do indeed come to those who wait.

Brett