Our Domino Effect

                                                          

We have all said, “If I had it to do all over again, I would not have done that.”

 Or…

“If I could go back in time, I would fix that.”

 

Well, we can’t.

 

Never will we be able to turn back the hands of time, or stop the pendulum swinging.  

Life.  

Time.  

Reality.  

 

So, what can we do?

 

We have a life-or-death decision to make.  

We have all been created with the supreme privilege of a free will choice.  

 

And choices we make are eternal.  

No human being has made the correct choices in life 100% perfect.  

Can’t happen as long as we are human.

There is a thought that I call the “domino” effect.  It goes like this:  

A decision we make, big or small, starts the dominoes in life to fall.  

We can’t stop them.  

A good choice produces good results.  

A bad choice, bad results.  

Sometimes catastrophic results.  

 

We really do not know our choices are going to cause chaos until it is too late. 

Can’t take back the words we say that are harsh. 

Can’t undo a letter we just mailed unless we want to hijack the postman before he delivers that horrible letter we just sent to a loved one.

The fact is that the domino falls and does what it does. 

Not just to us. 

But to the ones around us we love.  Even if we are alone, we suffer the consequences of our choices. 

Given to us from God, our free will choices allow us to make mistakes and move on. 

However, there are those we love, or say we love, who are in the crosshairs of our rifling words and actions.  They are innocent bystanders from far off, or right next to our hearts.

When we seek freedom from ungodly actions or decisions, only Jesus can fix our mistakes. 

The consequences remain, but we learn a valuable lesson. 

 

“I won’t do that stupid thing again.”

 

Well, with His help, we will not repeat dumb, selfish decisions. 

Our human nature and our flesh desires seem to outweigh and overrule our thought processes at times. 

Humans that we are.

Frail, fragile, finite human beings, trying to do God’s will. 

We will, undoubtedly, make errors, sins, and distasteful decisions, all in the name of Jesus in error. 

Thinking that it is good or that it is His will, we launch out into that investment, marriage, or job offer which turned out to be an angel of darkness rather than light.

 

I can’t see clearly what to do when I fail. 

Except pick myself up, dust myself off, and grab my bootstraps and forge ahead, by faith.

 

This freedom to choose brings with it the burden of the consequences of our choices.

 

Moses was commanded by God saying,

“Now listen.  Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death.  I have commanded you today to love the Lord your God and to keep His commands, laws and regulations.  Walk in His ways.  If you do this you will live and prosper. If your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, then I warn you now that you will be destroyed.  Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.  I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.  Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!”

Deuteronomy 30:15-18

 

Regrets lead to guilt. 

Guilt leads to remorse. 

Remorse leads to despair. 

Despair leads us into a spiraling out of control into depression. 

 

This depression, or commonly known now as Bipolar, is real, yet there is a way out. 

 

If a thought does reap an act, and an act reaps a habit, and a habit done long enough reaps a lifestyle, how do we stop this insanity?

 

Make better choices. 

How? 

Pray about every decision. 

 

This covers even little things, like which store to go to in my small town. 

I could go to the supermarket and wait in line longer. 

I could go to the smaller one, closer to home and wait even longer in the packed little store.

 

One day, I went to the smaller one out of convenience. 

Normally, I go to the bigger one, because it has better choices and cheaper prices.

 

Today, I felt I need to go, not because I was hearing a voice behind me saying, “Go this way.”  I just try to walk by faith and have my spiritual ears in tune to what God might do today. 

I do this every day, not even knowing I am. 

This is called a spiritual habit. 

Like reading the Bible every day. 

Praying. 

Worshipping etc. 

 

In the store, I allowed an elderly woman who was 80 plus in years, to go ahead of me in line.  She was in a motorized shopping cart. 

I saw her items as she put them on the belt. 

A half- case of Coca Cola.  A few toiletries. 

Some small food items, and a big case of Adult Diapers. 

 

My heart sank.

 

I used to foster care for the elderly, and my heart has always been big and open to them.

 

I made eye contact with the clerk and motioned with my hands and lips “I want to pay for her stuff.”  He acknowledged my gestures and rang up her items.

She had already zoomed to the debit card machine, almost running over my foot in the process.

Before she could get her card out of her purse I interrupted her.

 

“Ma’am, I would like to bless you today and pay for your stuff.” 

She responded, “Oh, that is not necessary, it's ok, Sir.” 

I replied again, “Well, Jesus has been good to me, and I know He has been good to you so please let me, okay?”

She hollered, “Well He has not done anything for me lately.” 

 

Gruff response and quite loud, too.

 

“Well Ma’am, Jesus is trying to right now if you will let Him.” 

 

Gruff, with love, back at ya.

 

I paid for her things, and she drove away.

Adult diapers are not cheap, and I wondered if they were for her or her husband.  Maybe she is a widow without much means. 

Her outward words of disgust or embarrassment were actually a bunch of words from a broken heart. 

I knew this by the Spirit of God.

The clerk laughed under his breath, but he, too, saw the generosity. 

 

The Name of Jesus was spoken by me twice, and it is the Name above every Name. 

 

It is the Name above poverty. 

The Name above incontinence

The Name above frustration. 

 

Life and death in the power of the tongue and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

 

She was in despair.  She had a need. 

I am glad, by faith I was at this store that day. 

Maybe the savings she saved from that purchase allowed her to buy her medication. 

Or her husband’s medication. 

I will never know. 

Maybe it allowed her to buy more groceries or pay her utility bill. 

 

Dominoes.

More of them fell that day and who knows where they ended. 

All I know is this. 

Good decisions produce good things.  Bad ones.  Well, you know.

 

We reap what we sow, and I am determined, like you, to sow to the Spirit and bless those who curse me. 

I will forever love my enemies. 

I will do, like you are trying to do, to be more like our Master Savior Jesus. 

We are the hands, feet, voice, compassion, and love of Christ our Lord.

Pray before you go to the store. 

Pray before you go to work. 

 

How about just praying?

 

We have the choice to be free. 

We are free to choose. 

The free will choice given to us from a Cross.

 

That Cross was not free. 

His Blood was not free. 

 

His pain was real. 

He did all this, so we can just try and try again to make good choices. 

If we fail, get up. 

Find the dust mop and dust yourself off. 

Try again. 

 

You will win. 

You will miss 100% of the shots you never take. 

 

Take a shot today. 

 

What happens if it works? 

 

I can hear the dominoes falling.                                                          

Copyright © 2025 by Joe Wilkins