Life is a lot like basketball...

Now stay with me. Life is like basketball.

1) sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Sometimes everything goes right and you win, sometimes everything goes right and you loose anyway. Sometimes everything goes wrong and somehow you win, and sometimes everything goes really wrong and you really loose.

2) there is a time limit, in basketball it is till number of points made or a clock is winding down. In life there is a clock but only GOD can see how much time is left and when the buzzer sounds there is not a thing we can do to extend time.

3) You get fouled and you foul other people.

It happens, all the time. If it hasn't happened to you yet, just wait it will. The real challenge is to not let that foul affect the rest of your game/life in a negative manner. Keeping your composure in basketball is important just as it is in life.

4) Timeouts are a good thing.

Coaches call timeouts to regroup, to rest, to strategize and sometimes to just change the pace of the game. In life we sometimes need to call a timeout to prioritize those things important to us, to create a change of pace and sometimes just rest in the hands of the one who created us.

5) Free throws are not always free.

I still don't know why they call them "free" throws. First of all something had to happen to get you there, a whack on the wrist, getting run over, a slap on the head, something happened to get you to the line, no one came up and said here, take a free shot. And even the best of free throw shooters do not make 100% so there is a chance that you are going to miss, so it is not guaranteed. Life sometimes says you have a "free" throw. That it will be easy, that you are guaranteed, but in reality those freebies do cost sometimes in the end. And taking the easy way out usually does not result in the best of circumstances. And even guarantees are not at all guaranteed anymore.

So next time life gets you down, think of a little basketball and decide if it is time to call a time out, or get to the free throw line, or buckle down on defense. But always do your best and try to win.