Every week as we say the Lord’s Prayer, I think of the importance of the phrase “Thy will be done.” It clearly defines that our faith tells us that God is in control. Yet, there are few days that go by that someone does not ask to pray for someone who is sick or in crisis. We defy our own belief that God is in control and not us. We pray that someone will be healed or something bad will be avoided. Sometimes people will thank everyone for their prayers when someone is healed or things turned better than expected. These all bring conflict to those of faith. Such is the dilemma of faith. We do not have all the answers simply because we are mere mortals. We live by our faith.

Inconsistencies in people’s faith and what they say have dogged me since my early teens. My father died when I was 12-yearsold. He was 49. I remember people coming to the house and overhearing them say “the good die young.” I could not understand what my grandmother could possibly have done to out-live her own son, if truly the good die young. You might question why I write of this. I do so because there is much that we do not understand in life. God gave us minds to make decisions. He gave us the free will to make those decisions both good and bad. We all have made both. Sometimes we know instantly that we made bad decisions, other times it takes much longer. Sometimes it takes a lifetime. Those of us with faith know that because of God’s grace those bad decisions can be forgiven. However, that should not be a crutch to not attempt to do the right thing.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Every day of our life we each make decisions, some are more impactful than others. Some affect only ourselves, while others affect all of those around us.

Those of us in government, both elected and administrative, must make decisions that can affect many; most we will rarely or never see. Some will be positive or will appear to be positive while others will appear to be wrong-headed. Time will reveal that what was first considered a good thing will actually prove to be wrong. An example might be the expansion of Medicaid. We will not know until sometime in the future. An omen may well be the announcement from Washington that the Medicare program will run out of money much faster than expected. Projections are now that this program will run out by 2026 – just eight years from now. Likewise, Social Security is projected to run out of funds by 2034. Adding Medicaid expansion to these two programs will require a major overhaul of these three programs in the next few years. Those overhauls will probably require a combination of higher taxes, a curtail of how services are provided and who will be served. In all probability, many who thought they were going to be served will find that those promises will be broken.

Too often, decisions are made at every level that are based on limited understanding of problems or because of popular support. Actions that are driven by either may prove to be bad decisions in time. God gave us free will, it is up to each of us to make the best decisions possible.

Frank Ruff represents Lunenburg in the state Senate. His email address is Sen. Ruff@verizon.net.