Friday, August 24, 2012

Loss: one choice or one situation can change your life....

This week I have been impacted by three different stories in the news about three young African American males.  The first story was about Tony Farmer, 18 a high school basketball standout that made a choice to confront an ex-girlfriend which caused him to be sentenced to 3 years in prison.  The next story was about 21 year old Chavis Carter that was shot in the head either self inflicted or by someone else.  The story is that he committed suicide while in the back of a police car while handcuffed.  The last story is about 15 year old Dana Payne from Memphis, TN was at football practice and was hit and died on the way to the hospital. Each of these stories ended in loss of life. 

As I read each of the stories, it made me think about how one situation can really change your life whether it was a controllable situation or not.  When I watched the video of Tony Farmer, my heart went out to this young man because he had such a promising future. His life has change because of the one choice of going to confront his ex-girlfriend and he made some decisions out of desperation and anger. He was awestruck when the judge handed down the sentence and collapsed in the floor.  His life will be forever changed because he will have a blemish on his record which will make it difficult to find a job and have opportunities to do what he dreamed.

Chavis Carter and Dana Payne's lives have changed because they are no longer here on earth.  The story about Chavis is one of great sorrow because the truth will never come out whether he committed suicide or shot by someone else.  The story does not add up but he can not tell his side of the story.  Dana Payne seemed to be taken so soon.

We can learn from each of these stories about how one choice or situation can change your life. I know that we do not control when we will die but how can we live our lives to the fullest while we are still here.

Pray for the families that are impacted by the loss of these 3 young men.

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