Autistic Basketball Player With One Opportunity Shines

There are times when you only get one opportunity to shine, do or die. Like when you take a test, or in a championship game, or for me to be a full time missionary, a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I played football in high school and I loved when the game was on the line and all the pressure was on me and my team to win the game and we had one shot to win the game. I loved those situations because I was prepared, I practiced all week, I watched film, I worked in the gym, ran sprints so I wouldn't be tired in the fourth quarter and overtime. In those situations I had the confidence that we would do rather than die.

In this video Jason McElwain had one time to shine. Jason has autism but he will deny it, he is basketball player. Jason is a team manager and helps out the coach with with anything the team needs. His coach let him suit up for the last home game of the season, Senior Night. The coach told him he could not guarantee that he could get in the game. But in the fourth quarter with a substantial lead Jason got to go in the game with about 4 minutes left. It was Jason's only time to shine! Jason took advantage of this opportunity and scored 20 points in 4 minutes! He was on fire he couldn't miss a shot. He had waited his whole life for this opportunity and he took full advantage of it.

My question to you is what do you do with the opportunities that you have? Are you ready for them? Are you ready to excel and supersede all expectations and astonish everyone with 20 points in 4 minutes? You only get one chance what are you going to do with it?

The Atonement

Recently I have been recalling upon an experience I had at the Hill Cumorah. I was given a 50 lb bag of salt and when it was given to me it was labeled as a burden. I was then instructed to carry that bag all the way to the top of the Hill Cumorah, up a small muddy path, in the cold. It wasn't bad at first carrying the bag up the hill but as I went along the path it seemed like it wasn't going to end. It became difficult to carry the burden up as I could rarely get a good footing on the trail. The cold froze my fingers and made it hard to hold the bag, I found the best way was to put it on my shoulder and endure to the top.

When I finally made it to the monument at the top of the hill there was a picture of Christ and there I gave my burden to Christ. It was a great relief to drop the bag and it caused me to think about the pains that Christ went through for us physically and spiritually. Just thinking about the physical pains alone that Christ went through alone seems unbearable. We know from the scriptures that Christ fell on his face and bled from every poor from the agony and pain for fulfilling the atonement. Then to add on the spiritual sufferings all the emotions and heartache we feel caused from this evil world made it that much harder to bear. (Watch the bible video here)

It always strikes me when I think about the atonement and how loving our savior was to do this impossible task for me and you. He did it out of love so he would know exactly what we go through so he could comfort us and help us through our trials. I am eternally in debt to my Savior and am so grateful for what he has done for me and what he will do for me.