- Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
One of the burdens of being a parent is bearing the burden of guilt that comes from breaking promises. I must confess that there were way to many times that I made promises to my children that I didn’t keep. Usually the intent was good and the reasons were legitimate, but in the end I had to defer (postpone/cancel) hope and it made my little ones sad.
There comes a time that just giving people hope is not enough; you have to come through by keeping your promises.
Christmas is a good time to do this.
There are two approaches:
First, you can use Christmas as a “guilt pain pill” – trying to undone in day a year’s worth of broken promises, or you can use Christmas as an “investment instrument” – making a down payment on better things to come.
This year, make sure your Christmas tree is a tree of life by cashing out promises made and keeping them and by showing those you love that things are going to change in your home; because starting now, you are going to be a promise-keeper.
And remember, the greatest gifts do not come in boxes, bags and stocking. As the saying goes, “Love is spelled T-I-M-E.”
The ONE THING 