Winning point often determined at the beginning of a game

Kevin Collier, second from left in dark blue shorts, and son Jarod, at his side, directly under the basketball hoop, wearing light blue shirt and dark blue jersey and shorts. Click on photo to enlarge.

by Kevin Scott Collier
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My son and I were discussing our father and son basketball game after it concluded at St. John' Lutheran School last evening. The 4th-6th grade team had won the game against their fathers 41 to 40.

Jarod, who scored a basket in mid-game said, "If it wasn't for my point, we would have lost the game." I smirked, and said, "Well, yeah, in a way." In fact, another boy had scored the winning point in the last 3 nail-biting seconds.

But, I began to think about what Jarod had said, and, I must agree with him. Every boy that made a basket got two points, and without their shot, no matter what quarter it was, they would have lost the game. Minus one basket, any basket, and the dads would have walked away with a 40-39 victory.

I look at events in my personal life and see what Jarod means. While I may have married Jarod's mom on Feb. 26, 2007, the winning point was determined long ago when I met her in a writer's group. Kristen was a single mom, and Jarod never knew a father. With our first contact, we had already secured the winning point, but there was no way we could have known it back then. 3 years later, I am her son's father, and the fact we are playing a father and son basketball game, speaks volumes of victory. Jarod and I were both winners in last night's game.

Sometimes we need to look back over our shoulder and recognize the small events in our past that leads to our victory. When you encounter a win today, trace it backward in time. You will see your victory today was determined by a point made long ago. It wasn't the point everyone noticed, or even cheered about, but, it made all the difference in the world in your life.

The winning point is not the last shot, but a point made much earlier that puts us on the right path. More often than not in life, our victory is secured at the beginning of the game, not the end.