Last week, we all sat down and filled out our NCAA Tournament brackets. We wrote down the teams we expected to win, hoped would win, and the ones we thought would pull the upsets.

As college basketball fans, we held out hope that our bracket would be the perfect one where every game went our way and exactly how we predicted it.

I don’t know about you, but after a couple of games on Friday, my bracket was officially busted. My dream of correctly predicting the Final Four went out the window when Texas and Illinois both lost…and my desire to see Grand Canyon as this year’s Cinderella broke my bracket as well.

So even though we have good reasons for why we think the tournament will go a certain way and trick ourselves into thinking we can actually predict a perfect bracket, we are humbled and reminded very quickly how unpredictable the tournament truly is.

Now what? How do we respond to our busted bracket? Do we rip it up, cry, and stop watching the tournament? Do we throw up our hands and admit our bracket is done? Or, do we admit we have no control of these games, stop worrying about wanting everything to go according to what we wrote down, and just enjoy the games as they unfold?

Ultimately, can we let go of our bracket and the outcomes we thought we wanted and freely watch basketball?

My brother got me thinking about this when he texted me over the weekend: “Yeah, once you give up on your bracket it enables you to cheer for more of the upsets.”

And let’s face it, the upsets are the best and what makes March Madness so special!

Most of us at one point in our lives have thought about or put together a “bracket” for how we wanted our lives to turn out. We predicted we’d get married by a certain age, had a plan to get the dream job, expected to live in a nice home in a specific city, have three kids who were honor roll students, and end up in the “National Championship” living on the beach in retirement.

Chances are, somewhere along the way our “life bracket” gets busted and what we expected would happen, hoped would happen, and thought would be the perfect plan turns out to be filled with several “upsets” instead.

Some dream scenarios and the things we wanted to see happen don’t go according to what we wrote down on our “bracket.” Of course, we’ll pick some games right and we may have a strong round or two or pick the correct “National Champion,” but just like in the NCAA Tournament, nobody predicts everything exactly right.

Everyone experiences an upset they didn’t see coming.

So the question becomes, now what? How do we handle the broken brackets and upsets in life?

I have to go back to the text from my brother: “Yeah once you give up on your bracket it enables you to cheer for more of the upsets.”

The sooner we are willing to surrender our own plans, desires, and expectations for a perfect life, the sooner we’re able to freely enjoy the life God has for us.

When we “give up on our bracket” and throw up our hands and admit that our bracket is done and we’re not in control, we can stop worrying about wanting everything to go according to what we wrote down and trust God as life unfolds according to His will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) encourages us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

There is such freedom and peace when we rip up our own “bracket” and embrace God’s surprises and even cheer for the “upsets.” Admittedly, God uses the “upsets” in life to get our attention, grow our faith, build our character, and reveal His goodness. In the end, they make our journey special.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 (AMP), “So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].”

Today, let’s be thankful for our “busted brackets,” so we can enjoy the tournament and life even more as we let go from clinging to what we thought would be the perfect bracket.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know Your way is best and You are in control. I pray my heart would be fully surrendered to You so I can live with more freedom and peace. Thank you for the upsets and challenges in life because I know You are using them for my good. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

1. In what ways has your bracket been busted in life?

2. How have the upsets in life changed you for the better?