Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Guest post by Suzann Darnall

Choices have consequences and decisions can affect generations. This is abundantly clear to me on this particular day of the year. My extended family has four major events which have taken place on June 2nd. The years they happened span more than four decades. And, it was the first occasion which pretty much started a chain of events that led to our being able to celebrate the other three!

In 1959 my father was commissioned into the United States Air Force on 2 June. Consequently we spent our lives moving and traveling around the country, including Alaska and Hawaii. After nearly 18 years we ended up at F.E. Warren A.F.B in Wyoming. It was our third time to live there, but this tour was particularly significant. ‘Cause this time around, in 1977, I met my future husband.

My husband also celebrates his commissioning date on 2 June, but the year was 1976. And, just as my father’s commissioning date was instrumental in my husband and I meeting, so was my husband’s commissioning date just as important to our meeting and to another of the events that happens a bit later. My husband’s first assignment as a commissioned officer also led him to F.E. Warren A.F.B.

In 1984 a baby girl was born on 2 June in the Philippines. My father, mother, and younger siblings were living there at the time due to my father’s military career, which had started back on 2 June 1959. A circumstance set in motion 25 years before resulted in a new life for an orphan and a new baby in our lives.

But, we were not quite done with 2 June yet. By the time this next event took place both my father and my husband had retired from the military. My husband, our daughters, and I were living in Texas. Texas is where our oldest daughter met her future husband, who she married on 2 June 2001. Why were we living in Texas? ‘Cause I had lived there three times before due to my father’s military career and it was the place I wanted to spend the rest of my life. So, one more event came about due to a decision made on 2 June 1959. A decision made 42 years before allowed my daughter to find her soulmate and led to her choosing 2 June for her wedding.

Have there been lots of different events and decisions that took place on other dates which have affected our lives? Most certainly! But, these four serve, for me, as a reminder that choices have consequences. A decision made by one person can affect generations. My father’s decision to become a commissioned officer on 2 June and make a career in the Air Force brought into my life a wonderful husband, a new little sister, and a terrific son-in-law, all with a link to the date of 2 June. Not magic, but special to me nonetheless.

We need to always be aware that choices and decisions have consequences. Sometimes we make a wise choice and receive a blessing. Another time our decision is less sensible and we suffer the punishment.

We see this repeatedly in our own lives, the lives of those around us, and even in the news. Bad choices lead to bad consequences, while good decisions bring about benefits. When faced with a choice, think about what will come about with your decision. Which option will do the most good? Which alternative might do harm? Always choose the right. You could be deciding events that will affect your children, your grandchildren, and even your great-grandchildren. So, choose wisely.