Promise Without Forgetting
How many times do I agree to do something just to get people to quit asking? It takes a strong commitment to honesty to avoid this trap. I think I got really bad about this when my children were toddlers who are the best marketers in the world. They just don't take no for an answer. If they accept the no today, they will be back asking again tomorrow. And for a toddler that is important because without the constant reminders to help them expand their world I would have been a far less able parent.
But in dealing with an incarcerated loved one, I have been guilty of promising to get a letter off "today" and realized a few days later that what I promised got lost in the business of life. I can justify it. I can understand all too well how easily it happens. But as I began working in prison ministry I came to have a stark understanding of what that means for someone shut off from the world. (Better, an honest, "I don't know if (or when) I can get to that, but I let you how I am progressing on that."--and then do.)
So some folks think it is odd I am so particular about not promising what I can not (with God's help) deliver, even in small things. But kids and the incarcerated notice and that helps keep me honest.
Maybe today there is a note you need to write, a call you need to make, an amends you need to address, a donation you need to deliver that is grating on you to be done. Do it today and enjoy the blessing of being the hands and feet of God as you fulfill a hope and a yearning for a fellow child of God. If you feel overwhelmed by all that is not done, start with one and thank God for that being done.
It is the beginning of claiming this joy for yourself!
Delayed hope makes one sick at heart, but a fulfilled longing is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
How many times do I agree to do something just to get people to quit asking? It takes a strong commitment to honesty to avoid this trap. I think I got really bad about this when my children were toddlers who are the best marketers in the world. They just don't take no for an answer. If they accept the no today, they will be back asking again tomorrow. And for a toddler that is important because without the constant reminders to help them expand their world I would have been a far less able parent.
But in dealing with an incarcerated loved one, I have been guilty of promising to get a letter off "today" and realized a few days later that what I promised got lost in the business of life. I can justify it. I can understand all too well how easily it happens. But as I began working in prison ministry I came to have a stark understanding of what that means for someone shut off from the world. (Better, an honest, "I don't know if (or when) I can get to that, but I let you how I am progressing on that."--and then do.)
So some folks think it is odd I am so particular about not promising what I can not (with God's help) deliver, even in small things. But kids and the incarcerated notice and that helps keep me honest.
Maybe today there is a note you need to write, a call you need to make, an amends you need to address, a donation you need to deliver that is grating on you to be done. Do it today and enjoy the blessing of being the hands and feet of God as you fulfill a hope and a yearning for a fellow child of God. If you feel overwhelmed by all that is not done, start with one and thank God for that being done.
It is the beginning of claiming this joy for yourself!
Delayed hope makes one sick at heart, but a fulfilled longing is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
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