March Madness and Vocations

I have always loved March because it is the beginning of spring but also because of the Big Dance, March Madness. As a college athlete I have always loved sports and one of my favorite things about sports are the unpredictability. Teams compete all year with the goal of making the tournament and hopefully winning a national championship.

As we have already seen in the first few days of the tournament there have been huge upsets and the classic Cinderella story teams. Each team has nothing to lose and it appears as if they all believe they can compete with any of the other teams in the tournament. It’s impossible to predict what member of the team is going to excel everyone’s expectations and carry their team to victory. There are both teams that have never made the national tournament and teams consistently in the tournament every year. Each player warms up for the game without knowing how well they are going to play that night. The seed that’s assigned to each team leads the spectators and fans to believe that the highest seed will win, but this is a dangerous assumption to say the least.

What does this have to do with Vocations? I entered the convent a year and a half ago and had many conversations with my family about why I had decided to enter. I surprisingly see a lot of parallels with March Madness and the mystery of vocation especially parents who have children with religious vocations. My vocation to religious life was difficult for my parents for a variety of reasons, but it all seemed to come down to the fact that my parents had expectations about what my life would look like and a religious vocation was definitely not it.

Like a basketball team who prepares all year for a chance to play in the Big Dance, my parents raised me to work hard so I could eventually get a job and have a family of my own. As a college athlete my parents witnessed my work ethic and were assured that I would be “successful” at whatever I chose to do. Little did they know that more would be asked of me than any job or career could ever demand. Of course, I could have been happy working a job that I loved and eventually having children of my own, but God chooses people to be completely His and there is no way of predicting who that might be.

The star shooting guard spends months in the offseason lifting, running, and shooting similar to the Christian who spends their life learning how to more fully receive the love of Christ in preparation for when He might everything of them. Instead of lifting, shooting, and running the disciple of Christ prays and receives that Sacraments in preparation for “game time” when Christ calls them to be His bride or priest. My parents, as the spectators, had no idea that the Lord would call me to religious life and there was no way of predicting it like all of the brackets that have already been busted. The Lord’s choices are mysterious often catching us off guard, but the drama adds to the joy. He can choose the most gifted artist to leave it all behind at any moment so they can love Him with their whole heart. Sometimes the most unexpected player comes off the bench and blows everyone away by scoring 25 points or, on the flip side, the reliable go-to point guard might sprain his ankle in the middle of the first half leaving the team to sort it out without his leadership. You never know, but this only adds to the beauty.

Overall, the best way to look at life is to be open and surrendered. In other words, don’t just have the four teams with a one seed in the final four, God likes to surprise us. Never underestimate God’s ability to use the lowly to humble the proud and show His power through the weak. God chooses who He chooses, and His plan is always good!