Choice

Choice and freedom go together. We live in a great country where choice and freedom are considered basic rights. With choice comes accountability.

My daughter Anita, when she was just four years old was participating in a family meeting where I asked the question; "How long does it take to make a decision?", to which she answered: "A brain think". This is true, a decision only takes as long as it takes to decide.

Have you ever heard someone justifying a choice by saying, "It is my life, I can do what I want!", or "It is a free country".

April 20, 1999 I was at work at Martin Marietta just south of Denver. There was a buzz at work because there was something that transpired at the high school. Parents were concerned for their children. There were phone calls from students and family saying that there was a shooting at Columbine High. My home was just across Clement Park and Wadsworth Boulevard from the school. Two boys made a decision that they were going to enjoy killing people that had ostricised them. Commencing at about 11:30 the boys had placed bombs in the cafeteria set to explode during the first lunch hour. The boys carried an arsenal of weapons that included bombs and fire arms. 15 people died that day; more were injured and some were permanently disabled. I am glad that the boys were incompetent, but look at the damage they still inflicted.

The choice these boys made extended well beyond their own lives and their own families lives. The news media had views of Columbine High on the television while the young men were assailing the students and faculty in the school.

The choice of these boys came very close to home for me. I worked daily with two men that had children shot in the incident, one fatally, the other was paralyzed from the waist down. Several co-workers had children that were hidden in closets and other enclosed areas in the school during the incident.

Choices made by these boys affected the freedom of others and themselves and their families. I have made choices that have been good and I have made choices that have been bad. Our choices should be made with the understanding that our choices determine the road we take going forward.

There are a few things I am glad I have chosen to do. I served my church by spending two years in a foreign country at my expense. I went to school and earned a master's degree in engineering. I married a beautiful and wonderful woman that shares my values. I have seven children. I was free to have a family because of my choices. You too are free to choose.

I feel like Joshua of the old testament who said; "Choose ye this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord!