Today I met a woman who isn't much older than me yet is responsible for five children--one of whom she must have given birth to around the time she was 14 years old. Another one of the children has cerebral palsy, and I believe one of the children is her sister's child. She's a single mom, doesn't receive child support, and none of the fathers are involved.
Granted this woman has made some bad choices and probably continues to make some poor choices but hearing about her life reminded me that I am so blessed that I'm not "suffering" the consequences of choices I made when I was really young. When I think about all of the stupid things I've done I am reminded of how different my life could be had the consequences of my actions been more severe. So I am grateful that we don't always reap what we sow or get what we deserve or have to pay the price for our bad decisions.
p.s. I'm grateful for how small the world is. Tonight at the gym I ran into a girl I went to law school with who is living here now, and we're going to get together soon. She has tons of very interesting sounding friends here too, so maybe I'll meet some other cool people through her. I'd seen her boyfriend at the gym a few times (he was also in the class above me) and wondered if he was who I thought he might be, and seeing her confirmed his identity and prompted me to speak. Fun! Happy Friday!
6 comments:
I think of the same thing sometimes, and thank God for watching over me :)
Yay for running into old friends!
She may not have given birth to the oldest...you would be surprised how easy it can be to accumulate children...:-D
But I totally agree with you. It is easy to look at people in some tough situations of their own doing and say "Well, it is your fault," because it is. But at the same time, before saying things like that, we should all think about the bad decisions we made that we were never really held accountable for.
Excellent reminder!
Posts like these are why your blog is at college reading level. :)
Ahhh... the freedom to choose, and to make one's own decisions. Good in so many ways, but can be the opposite in so many ways also.
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