Decisions or Divine Intervention?
By: Nancy Whitaker
Every day, we literally make tens of thousands big and small decisions, consciously or unconsciously. From priorities we set at work, to stories we tell, from which shirt to wear, to what we have for dinner. Now these are not big decisions, they are simple choices we make such as: “What do I want for breakfast? Do I want tea or coffee? Do I even want breakfast?
Then we decide, “Do I want to take a bath or shower? Should I pack my lunch? Should I eat out? Oh my! What should I wear today? How should I do my hair? Shall I wear a jacket or a sweater?
These every day choices we make may only effect us, but sometimes even these choices can alter your life or someone else’s. For instance here is a scenario of what happened to a man when he was preparing for work. The story goes: “It’s a sunny day in Midland, Texas, in 1954. It’s 8:00 am and the man is about to leave for work. He walks out of his home, closes the door behind himself and walks towards his car. While he opens the car door, he notices he is not wearing his watch. He thinks for a couple of seconds and decides to go back in the house and retrieve it from the kitchen table. At 8:01 am he walks out again, to his car, heading for another day at work. A mere 30 seconds later, he hits a young boy crossing the street, because he failed to notice the child. The child is dead.
Now, look at the other picture. This is the same scenario, but a different outcome. Instead of making the decision to go back in and get his watch, the man decides that he didn’t really need a watch that day, drove away and headed for another day at work. Approximately 30 seconds later, he looks in his rear-view mirror and sees a young child crossing the street. The man goes on without his watch and the child goes on his way to school. The child is alive.
Let’s assume the second scenario actually happened. The child would grow up, and as a young man, gets married (which would not have happened had he been killed in a car accident) to a girl he met at a barbecue (where he would not have been had he been killed in a car accident). Had he actually been killed in a car accident, it is likely that the girl would have married someone else.
Now that same couple had two daughters, twins, which they would not have gotten had he been killed in a car accident when he was a child; the young man went into politics and had quite an impact on his country and the world, which would not have happened had he been killed in a car accident when he was a child.
Small decisions (or the lack thereof) have the potential to change the course of your life and the lives of others, and potentially the entire world. This doesn’t mean we have to ponder each decision we make each day. That would set us nuts. But it doesn’t hurt to think through this concept and become more aware of the processes that lead to different outcomes.
I have read and heard about how a gut feeling not to take a certain flight or travel at a certain time has resulted in what I like to call divine intervention. In a lot of these cases the airplane crashed or there was a pileup on the highway. Again decisions have the power to impact.
When looking at it from a different perspective, doing something small for another person can have a great positive impact on one’s life. Recently while playing music at a restaurant, I went up to pay my bill. I still don’t know why, but I paid for one of the musicians pie and coffee. I just felt like doing it.
He was amazed that I had paid for his food. Actually it made his day because he had just helped another person by doing a good deed. We discussed how it all played out and how that sometimes when you do good things for people, good things will return. Even little decisions can help someone and sometimes little decisions and circumstances can harm or hinder someone.
Did you ever make a very small decision that, in the end, had enormous good things return to you? Do you believe that certain decisions we make can impact someone’s life? Decisions, choices, divine intervention? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
