A Promise Worth Keeping
The good looking kid (gets the looks from his mother) you see in the picture is my son, Micah. This year he has developed a love affair with baseball. On Thursday he asked me to work on his pitching with him. I told him that I would after I finished working out. I finished my workout, got something to eat, showered and before I knew it, time had slipped away from me. Now, I was rushing out the door to get to the office. As I was walking out the door, I heard his innocent but maturing voice, “I thought you were going to work on my pitching with me.”
Now, I had every intention on playing with him, but had conjured up several “good” reasons why we should postpone his pitching session: I was running behind schedule, he had just finished eating, and it had been raining earlier (Now, it really hadn’t rained long and hard enough to prevent us from playing). “Son, can we work on your pitching when I come back home this evening?” He said, “All right, dad.” Although his “all right” sounded like he understood, I knew it was laced with disappointment. His “all right” sounded like a hope deferred, and I was the one who had deferred it.
When he conceded, I knew I was about to break a promise to my son. But, the Holy Spirit would not let me. He nudged me to put down my bag, my blackberry, and my afternoon snack and pick up my glove and work on pitching with my son. I obeyed. It was the best ten minutes of my day. Yes, it was inconvenient. Yes, it interrupted my flow. But, something more important than my schedule and my flow was at stake. My integrity was at stake. My example and reputation of being a “father who keeps a promise’ was at stake (I know another Father who has a reputation of keeping promises) This was about more than playing catch. It was about making and keeping a promise to my son. I told him I would, and I needed to keep my word. It was a promise worth keeping.
What promises have you made to your spouse, children, family and friends, that you need to keep today? What inconveniences or interruptions have you allowed to prevent you from keeping your word? What baby steps can you take to fulfill your promises?
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Tags: Excuses, Family, Integrity, Relationships, Trust, Words
June 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Great post. I know all too well about making well intended promises then finding that keeping one, causes the breaking of another. Its a good reminder to be more careful of what I say yes to, what I say no to, and what is most important in life.
Those times playing catch can never be replaced… I'm with you, I don't want to miss any of those times for nothin.
June 15th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Thanks For Allowing GOD To Use You To Post This.
This Really Hit Home!!!
June 15th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thanks, bro. It hit home with me, too. I am more and more convinced that keeping our promises. What do you think keeps us from keeping the promises we have made?
June 15th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Man, you are spot on. The time get with our kids, especially our boys, is such a short time. I think what they want more than anything is the gift of presence. When we are present, let's be fully present for them. With your crazy and hectic schedule, I really appreciate your example to make every effort to be there for Juice. What do you think keeps us from keeping promises we have made to those we love? Grace and peace!
June 15th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Aw man…please stop readin' my mail. I broke a promise for a bike ride, and they (the two older girls) rode me until we rode. I felt terrible and it ate at me until we did it. When we finally did, which was several days later, I think it made their whole summer. Learning to be more present Pastor…I know that God is working on me. I say "it" ate at me, but in reading your post, I know that "it" was the Holy Spirit telling me to get to it. It was late, which made it all the more fun for them, but we got it done…plan to do more of that in the coming days! Thanks for your post Soul Man!
June 15th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Thank u 4 sharing. We sometimes forget how special our time is when we think we don’t have enough time or r 2 busy 2 fit the time in. Thank God 4 mercy, grace and favor and 4 children with enough love 4 us that they give us another chance when we forget or don’t have that immediate time.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Man, that is so cool. They can care less about money (Except for my Micah. He loves money) and about stuff. I am learning more and more, that they want us – fully present. Man, thanks for sharing that story. Why do you think we find it so easy to not fulfill a promise, especially to the people we love? Again, thanks for a very relevant story about this post. Grace and peace.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:20 am
I know I thank God for his mercy and grace on this issue. Also, I thank my kids for giving me grace. I believe I have failed more times than I have succeeded, and they give me chance after chance. It seems no matter how many times we fail them in this area, they still see us as their heroes. Let's live up to the hero status by being fully present and parents who keep their promises. Lisa, thanks for posting a very relevant and powerful comment. Grace and peace.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Great reminder to be the father that portrays "the Father" after all we are the first representative of GOD our children see. Guess I'm having a tea party tomorrow.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Lol! That will make Z’s day. I am convinced that we shape our kids’ view of the faithfulness of God. They are more likely to trust him and his word when they and trust us and our word. But, even when we fail, we point them to a perfect Father who keeps all his promises. Mike, thanks for the insight. Grace and peace.
June 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Man, go ahead and have that tea party. It will make Z's day. Thanks for the insight. How do we remain consistent in giving them a healthy view of the perfect Father through our imperfect attempts at fathering? Grace and peace.