Commitment

This year! It’s one for the books. My son recently got married. My boss passed away from bone cancer two days later. To top it off, I got COVID —all in the same week. My goodness! What’s next? I’m ready to throw in the towel on this year. How about you? Let’s just close everything down till the New Year and start over! That would be easier, wouldn’t it?

It might be easier, but some of us have commitments. Some of us are committed to finishing out the year strong, despite the hardships and obstacles we have to face. We can’t give up now. We have to keep going. We have to stay strong. That’s the lesson of commitment, and the blessing.

I have been married to the same wonderful man for 36 years. “Mr. Risk-Taker”, as I like to call him, keeps life interesting, that’s for sure. I am committed to staying married until death do us part. It hasn’t always been easy. But it has always been worth the risk. We went in to our marriage knowing that divorce was never an option. We would work on it or die trying, one day at a time.

Jeff and I dated for over a year before we walked down the aisle. We both had faith in God as our foundation. We didn’t have all the answers, but Jeff’s parents were our example of how a long lasting marriage worked. And now, we get to be the example for our children. What a blessing! Yes, there are many blessings that come from commitments.

Commitment is all about the little choices you make every day. Those little choices lead to the final results you’re trying to achieve. 36 years of little choices have led to a lifetime of blessings and a great marriage.

It used to be that a person’s word meant something. You didn’t go back on your word. It was an oath and a statement about your character. Once you gave it, it was like a binding contract. —Not so much anymore. Even your signature on a contract is no longer binding. We have lawyers who can get anyone out of anything for a fee.

According to the Center for Disease Control, divorce rates in the US have declined, but so have marriages rates. It seems people aren’t willing to commit to being married like they used to.

Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality.

Abraham Lincoln

So congratulations to my son and his beautiful bride and daughter, who didn’t let this terrible year get in their way of commitment to each other and a new life together.

Even in the face of a horrible COVID year, let’s get back to making and keeping commitments. Let’s finish this year strong! Let’s teach our children and grandchildren the meaning of commitment. Let them experience the benefits of keeping your word. Let us be the example.

God bless—Barb