The Fourth Quarter

We sometimes talk about "The Game of Life." William Shakespeare said that "All the world's a stage and we are but actors." Depending upon the metaphor of choice, we are in a game or a play. Either way, there are time periods of action in a game, acts in a play, innings in baseball, or sets in tennis. Each period of play will be different and will serve a different purpose. The first act of a play identifies the characters and sets the stage. Act two advances the story and the final act brings the story to a conclusion. In a basketball or football game, the fourth quarter often makes the difference in whether the game is won or lost. As often as not, the last two minutes of play determine the winner of the game. In life too, we have various periods of play and the fourth quarter can be the most indicative of a successful life. At the point in time when we are getting tired, when we think we have done our part and it is time to let a younger person take over, when we are feeling beat up and ready to head for the showers, the critical point of the game begins. We need to finish strong. We may not be able to see the clock or know how much time is left, but we need to know the score and we need to know what we can do to be the most effective with the time we have left. The reason this book is being written it to help us all realize that there is as much value to the final quarter of the game of our life as there is in the earlier quarters and to provide impetus to play to the absolute end of the game, to finish well. Whether we can hear the crowd cheering us on or we are in the game feeling virtually alone, let us consider how to intentionally live before the final buzzer sounds.