It's the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament! That may not mean a lot to many of you. But, hang in there and I will make a point.
For me, it's a magical time. It's a time where non-sport enthusiasts fill out a bracket by mascot, color or even coin flip and be the top of the office pool by the end of the second day. It's co-workers gathering in offices, discussing the teams like pro commentators, and even trash talking in a fun way.
It's watching the David teams like Mercer and Dayton take down a Goliath like Duke or Syracuse. It's watching a team that barely qualifies and has to go to a play-in game be a Sweet 16 contender when a favorite goes home in the second round. There are those unbelievable three-pointers and that freshman that hasn't done a thing all year who suddenly puts in 25 points.
This year, Warren Buffet, the famous financier, offered $1 billion dollars for a perfect bracket - choosing the winner of all 63 games. I think I was out by the third game. By the end of the first day, there were 18,000 perfect brackets left. When Duke lost, that number lowered to 58. By the game 21, even the best at the game (or the best guessers) had spoiled their unblemished brackets.
It turns out that the odds of getting a perfect bracket are between 1 in 174 million (if you are REALLY a basketball guru) and 9.5 quintillion (http://www.policymic.com/articles/85401/mathematicians-have-determined-your-odds-of-picking-the-perfect-ncaa-bracket). Think about it - that's the odds to get 63 games right. No one has ever done it in the 100+ years of tracking!
Now, let's apply this to life. Honestly, how many decisions do we make every single day? Starting with hitting the snooze button or waking up early; blue or grey pants; sandwich or soup; long or short commute; say something or let her walk out of here with the lettuce on her teeth; paper or plastic; vanilla or chocolate.
We know we make more than 63 decisions in a given day - how many of these will we get wrong? It's actually frightening to think about. We've gone to lunch and looked at the other person's plate wishing we had gotten what they did. We regret using our time one way when we should have done another. We even wish we had stayed in our lane during a traffic jam instead of moving over. We say something negative about a slow waitress instead of saying something kind. We probably have less than a 9.5 quintillion chance of getting every decision right. And we start over every single day.
Most of our decisions aren't major to the outcome of our lives. The color of your tie probably isn't critical. But, some decisions - whether of commission or omission - can change the course. And, eventually, making the same bad decisions over and over may change things like our spiritual, physical, mental or emotional health. For example, not brushing your teeth tonight isn't a big deal. But not brushing every day could put your dental health a risk.
Complicate this even further - doing the right thing should be done with the right intent. I can be kind to my neighbor, but if I expect something for that kindness, it's not genuine.
My nephew is getting baptized next week. I think about how he'll be pure and clean on that day, in that moment. But, eventually, just like the rest of us, he'll yell at his sister, use a word he shouldn't, forget to read his scriptures one night. Suddenly, that perfection is gone.
We've been learning in Primary the song "I Stand All Amazed". It talks about the life, atonement, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and how it was all done for each of us individually. It's a beautiful song with amazing words.
I can't try to explain the Atonement in words because I can't. I don't understand and I'll never understand how one person could take on all the pain and suffering. Things that I think are too hard for me to get through the day - He took it on times every person who ever lived on the earth. Events that you see or read about that are too painful to watch for one minute - He took it all on.
I tend to think of the Atonement as a gift to be used for my "big" mistakes. But, if I undoubtedly make daily mistakes (and I'm sure I've made 9.2 quintillion in my life!), utilizing the Atonement every day is vital to correcting my mistakes. The Atonement and my relationship with Christ can help me to course correct when I make small mistakes to ensure that I don't put myself at risk against danger. It helps me get my actions and my motives right.
I know I need to use and more importantly, appreciate the Atonement in my life. I know I can't be perfect on my own. I will never win the billion dollars with a perfect bracket, but know that with the Lord's help, I can find a more important perfection someday. And that gift, my friends is priceless...
