Commitment

I heard a piece of information tonight that is alarming to me. Not like, life and death alarming, but a bottom dropping out of a commitment that I thought I had from someone. A clarifying conversation is happening this week, so hopefully it was just a "heat of the moment" type of thing. We'll see.

Commitment: a pledge or promise; obligation
If you're going to do something then do it. Follow through, follow up. Serving isn't always fun, it is rarely glamorous. Sure, it's exciting when you're in the beginning stages and everyone's pumped and running the race to launch successfully. But then comes the few months that follow, if you're lucky the years that follow. The times when you have to create your own excitement. When you have to as a leader (yeah I know, I'm still in the months stage...) motivate other people and carry them along if they need it, and give them permission to move on if God's calling them elsewhere. There are times when you have to have conversations that aren't fun and perform the menial organizational and background tasks that don't include cuddling the cute kids and standing in the best "serving spot" behind the soup kitchen counter.
To me, that's when the dirt hits the road (or is it mud hits the highway? I so don't even know where that analogy is going). That's when people show me that I can count on their commitment no matter what. That's when I feel like I really see into people's hearts.