OK, I only really love the excitement that comes with the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament each year. This is my all-time favorite sporting event. For me it’s a time when we get to use words like Cinderella Team, on the bubble, bracketology, and underdog. We can talk to just about anyone at any place about basketball during this three week period and find some common ground, a common theme of teamwork, and loyalty. We can root for underdog teams and watch a miracle unfold before our eyes, as a 15 seed team bumps off a top seed and moves to the next round. We can scream and yell and laugh and cry all within the same 2 hour time frame. Makes me feel alive!
But what I love the most about March Madness is feeling like I’m part of a team, something bigger than me, something that requires everyone to be working together, toward the same goal, with unselfish intentions. Even if I only participate from my living room, I still feel it, and it feels great!
My girlfriends are my team. They pick me up when I’m down; they carry the load when I cannot; they share my successes and my failures, they coach me when I can’t see the way, and they work with me on a common goal of trying to be more like Christ. We can scream, yell, laugh and cry together all within the same 2 hour time frame, and we are all part of something so much bigger than us individually! Not that much different than a dedicated sports team. I love my team of Christian girlfriends.
If you have been reading our blog (Girlfriends Breaking Bread) for any period of time, by now you know that we meet regularly to share a meal and enjoy fellowship and conversation. This month, we met at the local Richland Pub, a bustling little establishment at the northeast part of the village of Richland.
Shrimp baskets and burgers were the favorite this time around along with variations on a theme of fries! Beer battered, curly, regular or country fried. 
We know we have something special together and we make it a priority to get together and continue to hold each other up in prayer as we muddle our way through this confusing world we now live in. We miss our dear friend Anna who will be returning to Michigan in about a month, so our team will be whole once again!
For those of you who don’t know, I am a die-hard Michigan State fan. I am riding a wave of elation right now because my Michigan State Spartan team continues to move forward in the tourney journey and are now in the Final Four. They have been an underdog throughout the tournament and no one expected them to get this far. I’ve listened to their coach give them words of encouragement and listened to how they’ve encouraged each other.
I want that feeling of teamwork in my Christian life, and knowing that my team has my back. It seems to me we need to take a lesson from these young kids playing basketball, and do a better job of keeping the “Christian” teams together, whether we win a game or lose a game, we are still on the same team. We keep our chins up and we push on. As long as we keep fighting the good fight, with all of our God-given talents and gifts, all that matters is we are all Christians, on the same team, working toward the same goals… being more Christ-like.
For now,
Elisabeth
