Every Possession

When you lose close games that you feel like, as a coach, you should have won, you look for ways that games should be going differently. So it was for me last week, after the loss I wrote about. I broke down tape of the game, possession by possession, trying to figure out why we were giving up points. I looked at all 70 possessions and charted what defense we were in, the result of the possession, and the mistakes that led to scores for the other team. The details that I found mean nothing to those of you with no experience in the intricacies of defensive strategy. The ultimate result, and the message to the team, was that in order to win we've got to place a greater value on every possession. There may not be a ton of things we can change; but if we can alter 2-3 possessions a game, the results could be dramatically different.

I took the same approach with my spiritual life over the last week or two as well. If I can analyze 70 defensive possessions to give our team a better chance to win basketball games, I can certainly look at the way I spend my "possessions" of time over the course of a day to hopefully create a better chance to be more spiritually and biblically effective. To start this year I listed all of my resolutions over the course of last year as points of emphasis for personal betterment this year (see post). I pegged January as the month that I would try to be more God-centered in all that I do.

The challenge with that lies in the time crunch. It's tough to stay connected with God with teaching, coaching basketball, two kids, and grad school. The hours just don't add up to get everything done; and unfortunately, time to stay connected with God is usually the (pardon the poor analogy) sacrificial lamb. I had to start looking at my "possessions" and find a way to alter some pieces of my day so that I could buy some extra time. It's one thing to say I'm going to focus on being better; it's an entirely different (and more difficult) thing to make that happen.

That said, I believe I found two adjustments that I could make. One, I started eating lunch by myself. I eat in my classroom now. By doing that I get twenty quiet minutes during which I can read. I hate a lot of parts of this plan - the food is the same every day, and I miss a lot of the conversation. However, taking this time to read Bible passages or biblical commentary has turned into a great part of my day. It's quiet, and I always feel stronger and more grounded in reality afterwards. The other thing I've done is take the 15 minutes from when I leave the basketball office to when I get home to listen to an audio book of a favorite pastor of mine on my mp3 player. This is no great sacrifice. Here in North Iowa, the radio is terrible anyway.

These are not huge steps. But they are steps forward that are producing in me a better ability to see God more in my daily actions. They by no means address the fact that I'm "finding time" for what should be the most important part of my life. But as I said, they are steps forward.

Every possession counts. Hopefully I continue to find ways to make better choices during my possessions of time each day.