Decision Time
What have
you decided today? What did you wear to work, school, play, shopping… you made
a decision unless you’re a child (or husband). I have on my usual jeans and
plaid shirt. Tennis shoes today, no boots. What did you eat for breakfast? I
had watermelon and cashews. I wanted a dozen donuts but my usual jeans felt a
little snug so I opted for the fruit and nuts. What road did you take? I took
the fastest route along with what seemed like a thousand other souls. What did
you listen to on the way to wherever you went? My choice today was 98.7FM. I
actually was going to connect my phone to my radio and choose my favorite worship songs but was lazy instead.
There you
have it. 4 decisions that I made today that most of you have faced. 4 decisions
that we understand to be a decision that we deliberately make or we get stuck.
I choose what clothes to wear because Tammy says I have to wear clothes. People
may get uncomfortable at church if I were to show up without clothes so I chose
some to wear. I chose what to eat for breakfast because I was going to eat. Not
making the choice would have left me very hungry. I chose a specific route to
get to work because not making a decision would have left me sitting in my car
in my driveway. And I chose to listen to something or else I end up talking to
myself and people look at me funny at red-lights. I chose and so did you. Maybe
not the same things but you chose also.
I made some
other decision as well. I chose my attitude today. I have had ample opportunity
to be down, to be rude, to be bitter, to be mean but I chose joy. I chose life.
I choose love. Honestly what this means; I choose you.
Selfish –
an action or motive lacking consideration for others
I choose
you. You see, in my opinion, if I don’t choose joy, life and love then I’m
making a selfish decision based on my own needs and wants. If I choose to be
rude because I was cut off in traffic (it happened) then my decision says,
“This is my world, don’t mess with it”. And there are people that choose that
every day!
Today, I
want to tell you about two extraordinary people that have made an extraordinary
and completely unselfish choice. They have lost. They have lost big. It wasn’t
fair. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. But it was a tremendous loss nonetheless. They
lost their very young daughter, Brittany, in a car accident. A precious soul
that is being remembered and celebrated for who she was. Bright, Godly,
athletic (she was set to start her senior year in college that should have
began today), and full of joy. And now she is gone. There are plenty of this
kids classmates, lifelong friends, and even complete strangers that are
mourning and remembering Brittany Johnson and rightfully so.
But I want
to brag on her mom and dad. Extended family as well but specifically mom and
dad. I don’t know their life story, I
don’t know much about them other than their daughter. I do know they are
hurting viciously. I know that they have unanswered questions that haunt them
and cause them pain. I know that they have every right to be bitter and rude
and hateful and selfish. I know that the hand that was dealt to them just a few
days ago was not fair nor is it good. I don’t know how they feel but I can only
imagine the pain. But they have made a choice.
Yesterday
my son, Jordan, and I went to see them to hug their necks and pray with them.
Not that we are special, as a matter of fact, I haven’t spoken to or seen them
in years. But we knew and loved their daughter and wanted them to know that. We
arrived at the home and they were out making some difficult arrangements and
decisions. I told the friend at the house that we could come back but she
encouraged us to stay as it wouldn’t be much longer and that they would want to
see us. So we stayed.
When Brittany’s
mom and dad arrived (again, they came from making decisions that parents should
never have to make) they both took the time to hug me and also to hug my son.
They were so sweet and caring and courteous. They have seen probably hundreds
of people, and I have no doubt they treated them the same way, but here we are
and they’re loving on us as we are loving on them. They made a choice. Not a
natural choice. Not a “fair” choice. But they made a conscious choice to make
room in their hearts and their living room for us. I was humbled.
Then when I
got home I got mad. Not mad at them, not at all. But mad at you and mad at me.
Mad at you who act and post selfishly as though you are the only thing on the
planet. Living out your emotions in front of everyone so they will look at you
and fear you or feel sorry for you or whatever in the world you are looking
for. You have a choice and frankly you have no excuses. Your life has been
hard? Suck it up. Your life has been unfair? Welcome to the party. Things not
going your way? Honey please!
I looked at
my newsfeed, timeline, whatever that thing is called and there were pics of the
hurricane damage in Houston, there were pics of this sweet girl that got killed
and then there were posts about how inconvenient the president’s clothes were
along with a rant about a fast food order being wrong. Really? This is where we
are. Make better choices! I could CHOOSE to unfriend my unselfish bunch but
then they wouldn’t get to see my choices either. And that’s important because I
want to make better ones.
My goal is
to choose you and not me. I will do better. I learned that yesterday!
Pastor Dad
PS. If you
would like to help this precious family, please follow the link and make a
donation or order a shirt!
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