Ever have someone promise you something then not follow through? Like the boy who said he would call but never did? Or the secret someone said they would keep and they didn't.
I was raised in a foster home. I had a great foster mom and good life with her but like most kids in that situation, I wanted to be with my 'real' mom at times. My real mom was not able to take care of me for various reasons. She would visit me a few times a year. When she came she would always promise me that she would send me various things. I would wait patiently for the bike that never came. Or the camera that never came. Or, the dress I wanted...........They never came. So I know all about promises NOT kept.
I was an adult before I realized that my mom could not get me those things. But she only saw me a few times a year and she wanted me to be happy those few times so she made those promises to make me happy while she was there. I forgave her for the pain those promises caused me.
I learned never to make promises to my kids that I could not keep.
God makes promises too.
Hebrew 6: 18-20
16For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
God does not lie. Any promise he makes, you can bank on. He sent His son to die for our sins and promiesed life everlasting if we accept him as our savior. If we are skeptical about that, god knows it. He knows we are human and as humans, we make such mistakes.
Whan I get that way, I find a place of solitude and think about it and pray on it. Hee understands.
Solitude, your post made me sad at first but happy when I finished reading it. I am sorry your mother didn't keep her promises but I bet if she could of made them happen then she would of. Your were blessed with a wonderful foster mother, perhaps it was her that started you on your journey with God. Now that is a good thing, he never breaks his promises.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend.....:-) Hugs
What a touching post. Isn't it so amazing that god has all these wonderful promises for us? I am so thankful that he is the center of my life and I can stand on those PROMISES every day....Love Julie
ReplyDeleteBernie..if you knew what my mom's life was like and what all she went through, you would know why I was able to forgive and go on loving her. My foster mom was a good christian woman who allowed me to continue to love my mother and taught me to forgive her when I was a little older. I thank God for both of them.
ReplyDeleteMy promise breaker was a flash-and-cash deadbeat dad. Same story as yours and I learned the same lesson. I always tell my kids I will not promise unless (barring catastrophe) I can keep the promise. It has built great trust between us. Thank you for pointing us toward the only one who NEVER fails us. :)
ReplyDeleteI never told my kids I would do something that I knew I could not. Like you, I told them barring anything going wrong I would do something but I did what I could to make sure it was one I could keep.
ReplyDeleteVery nice, thought-provoking blog.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree whole-heartedly with you about your Mom. She wanted to be able to give you all those things she promised you and more, she wanted life to be different, to be better for the both of you. I think that promise from her heart was just as good as getting you those things, because in her heart that's what she wanted to do. She wasn't making empty promises, she wasn't just trying to appease you, it was her love for you that was making those promises. I can see how as a young child you would be disappointed, but I can also see how as an adult you can forgive her. I think you should look back on all those promises as gifts themselves, because it is all she could give at the time.
I hope things are working out for your daughter. We've been in a similar situation, and we found that 'Letting go and Letting God' was the best we could do for our daughter, for our sanity, and for our marriage.
Wishing you all the best, Eileen