Forks In The Road

By Rennie Phillips

Couple weeks ago Marge and I were invited to a bonfire and chili night out. We got there before dark and had a really good time. Ate some chili and meatballs and a bunch of other stuff. We had sold them a black steer, so we had to look at Angus and how he had grown. Somewhere around 9 p.m. we headed for home. They live down a gravel one-lane road so we moseyed down this road until we came to a two-lane paved road. Decisions! Now do we go left where I know we will face a good deal of traffic or turn right where there will probably be less traffic and better roads? I turned right.

Eventually we came to the Interstate and headed south. Right now is mating season for deer so I kind of expected or knew there would be deer along the interstate. I was driving slow which is normal for me. My wife and boys joke about how slow I drive. Russel, our son's friend, is the only guy I know who drives slower than me. I even passed Russel one day. Our son was awestruck I'd passed someone.

That evening I was driving even slower than normal. Marge and I saw the deer on the shoulder of the road about the same time and the little buck was moseying out on our side. I hit the brakes and probably got down to 30 or so and we smacked him. It didn't kill him but the truck behind us did and he went to deer heaven. No one got hurt and the pickup was still drivable so now we get the body guys to fix my pickup.

But what I'm driving at is we chose to turn right at the end of the gravel road. I felt like this was the right way to turn. I wonder what would have occurred if we had turned left? We will never know. One thing I do know is I'd make the same decision again even knowing we'd hit a deer and we'd end up having to fix my pickup. I felt it was the right choice. Hated messing up my pickup but easily fixable so no big deal.

We are faced with decisions our whole life, some minor and some major ones. Some are like the ones Marge and I make when we go to a little Chinese restaurant in Cape. Marge almost always has cashew chicken, but I like to venture out a bit. Minor decisions but still decisions. The other day Marge had a new set of tires put on her car, so I picked her up and we had dinner together. We had to choose between burgers or Chinese or chicken or sandwiches or fish. We had chicken. Excellent choice.

Back when I graduated from high school several of us decided to attend McCook Junior College. I don't regret going there even a little bit. It was a great choice. Later on while attending Chadron State College I asked Marge to marry me. She accepted after I gave her a dozen roses. Best money I ever spent on flowers. Don't regret making that decision.

But there are some decisions that are questionable. Most of them I'm not going to share. Those are the ones that will die with me in the grave. Some decisions are those where I ask myself: "Now why did I do that?" There are some where I say to myself: "This is going to hurt!" There are also some were when the dust settles I can honestly say: "Man I was lucky!" or "God sure was watching out over me there!"

Way back when I tried smoking cigarettes and it didn't go well. Nasty. Couldn't do it. Tried cigars and about the same. Chewed tobacco until I dated Marge. She said to either quit or no kisses so I quit. So glad I made the right decisions back then. When I fill out the health forms I can honestly say I tried them and just couldn't do them. I was never around drugs and such. Wouldn't have tried them anyway. Easy decision. But I have some friends who have tried them all. Most regret that decision.

Years ago while out coyote hunting using a big flashlight I made a decision to turn my life around and start going to Church. One of the best decisions of my life. As a result of this decision we moved our family to Oklahoma and then on to Kentucky to go to school. Met a lot of awesome people along the way. Great decision. Moved to Missouri and settled in Scott City. Great place to live. Another great decision.

As we journey through life we will be faced with decisions of all kinds, some big and some really minor ones. If the decision is between what is good or bad the decision should be obvious. If we are faced with a decision where we will break the law the decision is obvious. Some decisions don't take a rocket scientist to figure out, they are fairly easy to choose the right path.

Sometimes we are faced with a decision between two seemingly good choices. These are the hard ones. When this happens I like to sleep on it before making a commitment. My wife and my second rule or requirement is to not get in a hurry. Take time and decide. Some of the dumbest things we have done is when we get in a hurry. Don't be afraid to ask advice. I'll never forget a friend of mine in Seminary told me how he had fallen in love with his wife. So he asked the elders in the church what they thought, should he ask her to marry him or not. Obviously he did where they were married. Ask for advice.

Marge and I always ask someone who knows more than us, who knows how the whole thing will end up when the dust has settled. He is never wrong. He knows it all and His advice is free. Just ask!