Decisions and Consequences

Life is full of decisions and consequences. There is no "in between," for it is a choice in and of itself with its own consequences. This is a lesson I've been trying to teach my children, and they're getting a good dose of "trickle effect" right now-- they are seeing the dose, but are only recipients by way of "trickle effect."

It is my hope that they will learn through the life we live, through the example Hubby and I set, that life is hard but can be rewarding. That not all choices are as easy as deciding what to have for breakfast, and not all consequences are as simple as having an upset stomach for making the bad choice (can we say "honey buns"-- note the plural--with coffee?).

The choices we make in life do not effect only the person making the active choice, but can involve so many more people. One example is the decision an inmate made recently, the choice to murder a "correctional officer" (that's the politically correct term). That singular choice effected not only the murderer, but obviously the victim as well. But, perhaps more unintentionally, it effected hundreds of us for a variety of reasons. Ms. Biendl's family has lost their beloved daughter, sister, cousin, fiancee. Ms. Biendl's friends lost someone dear to them. Ms. Biendl's co-workers lost a valuable asset-- someone who would take measures to ensure their safety. As a community, we lost someone who watches over the worst people in our society-- convicted criminals. Not just regular convicts, but hard-core, "non-rehabilitatable", repeat offenders! She stood in the gap between them and us.

Closer to home, she would have helped protect my husband while they worked together, if someone had attacked him.

How can I possibly say this? Because she died fighting. Because she died doing a rather thankless job, and she worked that job with a smile on her face and earned the respect of her co-workers and the inmates. Not an easy task for anyone to do, much less for a woman in that kind of environment!

The choices I have already made effect several dozens of people in a more immediate way, and by trickle effect, probably thousands! I hope that the choices I have made, and the many yet to come, will be of benefit to myself and Hubby and our children, but also to those with whom we come into contact. I know it's ridiculous and unrealistic to expect that the choices will always be "right" or that they'll always have "good" consequences (I am, perhaps unfortunately, human). What I do expect is that my children will learn how to make good choices in life. To make choices that will benefit themselves, and their "fellow man," yet not without losing sight of who they are as individuals.

All decisions have consequences. Those who do not learn that lesson die quickly. . . or become inmates at a local jail or prison!

May we each remember to make good decisions, and accept responsibility for the consequences-- good or bad-- that follow.

~Cedeham~