The good-looking kid (gets the looks from his mother) you see in the picture is my son, Micah. Last year he developed a love affair with baseball. One 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, 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?
~Pastor Marvin
Marvin, thanks for sharing this experience. Sometimes it is a simple as obeying. Choosing to keep a promise.
ReplyDeleteAnd the inconvenience, the interruption - it doesn't seem to matter when you know you're doing the right thing. Because nothing compares to the joy on my child's face when I say YES to the promise I've made.
~Karen
May I not defer hope today! Thanks for the reminder and God bless you for your obedience to put down the bag and play.
ReplyDeleteMy kids have a claim on my time, my money, and my focus. That claim limits what I can do. Too often, I enjoy parenting until the point where it costs me something.
ReplyDeleteBy sharing your experience, you provide encouragement to all of us to parent faithfully. Thanks for a message that I need to hear every day – parenting is sacrificial.