My word is my bond

Zoe is my newest baby.  She is also the one to do all her firsts, last.  That’s a little bittersweet.  She is our princess.  She is just learning to talk well, and mimics everything she sees.  When I watch her toddle through the house, I know what it feels like to have my heart walking around outside of my body.  Zoe turns three next month.

We had small groups last Sunday afternoon at my brother-in-laws house.  We talked about Hannah. The long and short of her story is this:  Hannah wanted a baby *real bad* so God gave her one, with the understanding that she would “give him back to God” when he was three.

Zoe turns three next month.

I can imagine how Hannah might feel. Being a mother myself, I often wonder at the beauty of my children and delight in the innocence of a two year old.  But the three year birthday would loom like a black bird on the horizon.  The day I would have to give up my baby.  Just as Matthew and I plan for Zoe’s birthday celebration, Hannah was surely dreading the day little Sammie would turn 3.

If I were in Hannah’s place, I could not even imagine what she would be thinking at this point in her faith.   I know what I would be thinking.  It would go something like this:  “Come on God, you didn’t really want my baby”  or I might reason with Him like this: “She’s only 3, how can she be any good to you at such a young age? I’ll just keep her a few more years..”   But not Hannah.  She marched that 3 year old to the temple and gave her son to the priest.

What would you do if you were Hannah?

If I were being totally honest with myself, I know exactly what I would do.  I would “renegotiate my terms”.  And I would keep my baby.   It would be wrong, and I would feel guilty.  But I don’t think I could give up my Zoe.

Nowadays, is seems like we have a million excuses as to why we don’t have to keep our word.  “It’s too hard!”  or “I said that in the heat of the moment”  maybe we “misunderstood what we were committing ourselves to”.  Sometimes we go half way and get tired so we compromise our commitment.

My question today is this:  How committed is your commitment? Is your handshake really as good as a contract?  Is your word your bond?

God expects us to keep our commitments.  Even if they are hard.

Hannah was blessed with 5 more children.  And her story made the Bible.  The son she gave up became Samuel, a judge of high integrity and a prophet that counseled the first kings.

That is pretty impressive.

What commitments have you made lately?  (Like say, January 1st?) Are you keeping them?  Have you already “renegotiated your terms”?

I encourage you to read Hannah’s story.  Feel her heart aching for a child, experience her joy of Samuel’s birth, and take courage with her as she walks to the temple with him.