Decisions We Make Dictate the Life We Live

This pictures of a starving little girl being watched by a hungry vulture was taken by a famous photojournalist named Kevin Carter during the famine of Southern Sudan in 1993. The little girl was two miles from the food camp, but there wasn't an ounce of strength left in her. As a journalist Mr. Carter had to document the events around him, not interfere - it is not known if he carried the child the rest of the way or not. Perhaps if he would have used a wide angle lens, we might of seen hundreds of other children in the same situation. But how many can we help? Is one enough to ease our consciousness? Should we do anything at all when we know it wont make a difference? I'm sure Mr. Carter pondered these questions many times. So, what does this have to do with Martial Arts? Everything! We don't train our bodies, minds, and spirits just to learn how to kick and punch. We train to defend ourselves and those who can't defend themselves. Not just from the attacks of an enemy, but also from the cards that life has dealt for us. There are no coincidences in life, destinies have been pre-designed before we were even born. So, is this the great "chess game" of God that we have to play, without rime or reason, or any self determination or will - of course not. With all of the power of God, man kind still seeks out to destroy the human race in one way or another. This is because God has given us the great equalizer, which is our "will". Although he may have a great plan for our life's, we can choose our own path . . .right or wrong. Decisions we make dictate the life we live. Every day we are met with challenges, some more than others, and we are forced make decisions on how to solve those challenges. Just like during an encounter, we need to quickly decide if we are going to engage or not - the outcome will be its own universe, unpredictable, yet unique in its own way. God, however, provides us with the measuring stick, that is, a set of "core values" by which to test those decisions. Without this we would be choosing alternatives based on our lack of experience vs. the time proven principles outlined in the word of God - speaking strictly from a Christian perspective. One of the most important decisions we can make on a daily basis when we wake up in the morning is how to approach life that day - just the fact that you woke up another morning should be joy enough to take on the challenges of that day. How bad do you really have it? Look at the picture again! It is written in the word of god that " . . Not a leave shall fall to the ground without God knowing about it", so, we know that He does not cause everything to happen (good or bad), but He "allows it". I'm not sure what His divine purpose is to have children suffer so much around the world, or innocent people die, while such evil still exists. It is one of many questions I have for Him when I see Him in heaven. One thing I know is that my FAITH in God will never quiver, though tempted many times, He has always come through. There are two promises in his word that I hang my faith on; 1) He will never give us anything we can't handle, and 2) This too shall pass. These promises have gotten me through all of the rough times in my life. Back to the photograph. Fourteen months after the photograph was taken, Kevin Carter received the top honor of a Putlitzer Prize for this photograph. It is the highest honor a photojournalist can receive in the world. A few weeks later, hunted by the images he had witnessed, Kevin Carter committed suicide.