Gifts of Promise. (When I can’t keep mine.)

You know, there’s something that I respect highly: a person who keeps their word. Even if it’s something as simple as following through on nonchalant invitations for dinner. Or something bigger, like a person who faithfully prays for us. (Like so many of you do even now.)

I wish I were more like that. I mean, I try, and while the certain people I have made perfect in my mind in this area most likely miss from time to time, I wish I could have such a reputation. I’ll keep working on it.  (I have been promising my daughter a peach cobbler for awhile now.)

I’ve been doing some thinking about making promises, and keeping up with them….and how sometimes it’s tough. Kinda like how I end up getting way more food than I can possibly eat at a church dinner. Sometimes my good intentions get ahead of my actual possible physical energy levels – my “eyes” are bigger than my “tummy”. Figuratively. Of course. 🙂 Although…if you wanna think my eyes really are bigger than my tummy…..I’m good with it. 

In fact, even now, I’m in a (hopefully) brief season of life where some might say my good intentions have gotten the best of me and I’m being stretched thinner than I have in awhile. Someone very close to me had a medical test done today that could potentially reveal an extremely severe disease.

My husband and I are trying to help pull off a Vacation Bible School on an extremely limited budget, and even less time (try three weeks!).

I have some catering proposals to get out, some new piano students coming in, a big speaking engagement coming up in a few weeks, and oh yeah…that homeschool thing.

But a whole year of homeschooling doesn’t seem quite as large as the mountain of laundry in my living room right now.  And since I’m so blessed enough to have an awesome husband around who picks up so much of my slack…when he has several overtime weeks in a row, I realize how much I can quickly take him for granted.

And can I just confess something here? There’s the issue of ordering my sweet Kyle’s grave marker. For some reason, I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do that yet? I think it’s because with all my thinking, I just can’t manage to come up with the perfect two lines of text to summarize his 220 days with us. So, I just haven’t done it yet. With all of that going on, I’ve had to decline a few requests, and go back on my word on a few others.

Sometimes, I end up putting my most precious of treasures, my sweet husband and our girls, on the back burner. I hate it when that happens. But I usually don’t realize it in the moment – I realize it when it’s too late. When I remember how I’ve hurried them into bed, rushed them through their teeth brushing, even denied them a bed time drink of water….then, when I get that peace and quiet, I think about how I didn’t appreciate every moment I had with them. How I didn’t show them love with patience. And how quickly I know they can be gone. And how time doesn’t last forever. And they are growing up. And they won’t live here forever. And I’m gonna wish I could give them one more drink of water before bed. So in that moment of quiet reflection, I go check on them to see if they’re still awake – with a glass of water in hand. Usually, they’re already asleep. As they were as stretched thin throughout the day as I was.

Then I think about how my God always keeps His word. Every time. Always. It’s almost overwhelming. But He does. He cares about me. And I have to rest my weary body and my mind going numb from spinning and my broken spirit with the promises that He will always keep…

Who has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? — Deuteronomy 4:7

There is a special rest waiting for the people of God. — Hebrews 4:9

I will turn your mourning into dancing and surround you with joy. — Psalm 30:11

I forgive sins and will gladly show you mercy. — Micah 7:18

I will give you a garment of praise in exchange for your spirit of heaviness. — Isaiah 61:3

So over the weekend – as you rest and think on the tasks ahead of you in the coming week….find a promise. Write it on a card and tape it on your mirror. Look up a google image of it somewhere and save it to your work desktop.

Because while it would be an impossible task to attempt to keep my word every time for the rest of my life – good grief, I can’t even stick to a blogging schedule! I do know a God who has kept His Word for eternity. And that’s what I can hold on to in these busy overwhelming days.

Have any favorite promises you wanna share? We can rejoice in promised goodnesses all weekend long.

For now, I have some peaches to bake.