“The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them,” (Proverbs 20:7, NLT).
I spent fifteen dollars on a snow cone last weekend. Crazy, right?
Of course this wasn’t just any snow cone. This was a super-sized, rainbow flavored tantalizing treat scooped into a commemorative Tinkerbell mug. Yep, hubby and I took the girls to see the Disney on Ice spectacular on Saturday, and one glance around the arena told us we weren’t the only parents forking over ridiculous cash for souvenirs.
Why? What kind of mother buys a fifteen-dollar snow cone?
A good one, I think.
Not because good mothers pay a fortune for shaved ice balls. Seriously, what was in that thing to make it worth fifteen bills? Pixie dust?
Good mothers do, however, keep their promises. You see, before we settled into our seats, I promised my daughter a snow cone. How was I supposed to know they’d charge me a healthy kidney for it? There were no signs, no “get your overpriced snow cones here!” announcements to warn us. By the time the concession peddler approached our row and I flagged him down, it was already too late. I promised. Therefore, I paid.
We live in a world where promises are diluted, disrespected, and cheap. Commitments are optional. Covenants are casually broken. Yet God calls his people to live a life of integrity. One of the simplest ways I do that is by keeping my word. God keeps his promises to us. So I will keep my promises to my children—even when it’s hard.
Even when it hurts.
Even when it costs more than I bargained for.
A souvenir mug may not guarantee my daughter will remember our special family outing ten years from now. But she will remember this—her mother is a habitual promise-keeper. That, to me, is priceless.
Good moms keep their promises.
Good moms probably also have rules against things like straw-slurping the bottom of a Tinkerbell mug in public. If that’s the case, then I have my faults. My girls lapped up every last drop of that snow cone. I made sure of it.
If this post encouraged you, please feel free to pass it on. You might also like The Case of the Purple Car.
Special Note: Many thanks to Erica at Let Why Lead for honoring Time Out with a Liebster Award last week! I’ll be paying it forward in a future post. Stay tuned!
Love your story and I resonate with your perspective!
Blessings,
Lisa
http://www.moretobe.com & http://www.pnpcoaching.com
Thank you, Lisa! I’m enjoying your sites…
A timely call to integrity in our mothering! I find the more difficult promises to keep are those I make in terms of discipline. Sometimes it is hard to toe the line and to stand strong! 🙂 I am thankful for the sustaining grace of the Lord that enables and empowers me to stand firm and to keep my word. Our integrity before our children is vital!
A good word!! I have been convicted of this lately – particularly as it applies to following through with discipline. I long to demonstrate this integrity with my kids!
I loved this and I’m delighted that you dropped by my blog this morning so I could find yours! My youngest is 22 now (not sure how that happened since I’m barely over 30 myself) but I remember going to Disney on Ice when he was young. 2 memories stand out. His best friend got caught in the crowd leaving after the show and we completely lost track of Ben for about 10 minutes. 10 of the worst minutes of my life. Much worse for Ben’s panicked parents! The other memory is that while we were waiting I distracted the kids by letting them search through part of the arena for abandoned souvenir cups. You wouldn’t believe the collection we took home! 🙂 Now that I’ve got that completely irrelevant comment out of my system …. I think 2 of the most important qualities for moms are honesty (as you have beautifully shown here) and willingness to acknowledge our own imperfections and ask forgiveness. So important!
Beth, you crack me up! Not about the disappearing Ben story, oh my, but the adandoned souvenir cups were certainly a bonus. And yes, I agree, forgiveness – one of the most important qualities to model. I try to give it freely because I certainly need to ask for it on a regular basis!
Great integrity!