Trust, faith, or something else.
Have you ever wondered what allows you say, “Yes,” to a someone? Are you trusting that they will follow through and keep their word? Are you relying on your faith in them as a person? Or is it something else, more like wishful thinking. I often wonder if it is trust, faith, or something else that allows me to agree.
When someone asks you for something, it doesn’t matter who the are or what they are asking, how do you decide?
It doesn’t really matter who it is. It could be a child asking for permission to do something. Maybe it is a friend asking to borrow your car. Perhaps it is a husband asking how you feel about him going on a trip without you. You probably have been faced with a choice like this. Maybe even recently.
You had to decide to say, “Yes,” but what gave you that strength? Your trust in the person? Your faith? Or was it just plain wishful thinking that everything would turn out OK?
I have relied on all three of those options, but I have found that I seem to work through them in exactly that order. First I use my trust in the person asking. When my son asks to go to a friend’s house, I first decide that I trust him and say, “Yes.”
Then when trust fails me, and that person asks again, I look for my faith in that person. If it is my child, my faith relies on the character I helped her build.
Usually that is as far as I need to go. Two chances are generally all that I need to extend. I think most people try to live up to the trust and faith you have in them. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while and needs another chance.
But this morning I was wondering what I can fall back on if trust and faith fail me. What will allow me to offer another chance to a child if we exhaust the other options?
I think the answer might possibly be wishful thinking. You know you have to keep giving a child chances. Even if you make mistake after mistake, you still deserve the opportunity to do something right freely and without guilt.
So, yes. I think if it ever comes to that and I exhaust trust and faith, I will fall back on wishful thinking. And then I will say, “Yes, my sweet one, yes.”
