Mess Up, Fess Up

Influence is a big thing. Trust is an even bigger deal. If people trust you in life, if people believe that you are in support of the things they believe in, then you can have an impact.


I was talking to one of the amazing moms who come out to our Thursday night hot meal program about her daughter. She has been having a few challenges with her daughter and has had to prevent her from hanging out with people that would bring her daughter down.


She then talked about how she really wants her daughter to be around us as we reinforce the values she wants her daughter to learn. That is so powerful! We want to support families and teach the teens and children to respect their parents, especially when we know those parents really are striving to make their kids lives better.

Trust is so important as I said earlier. I have felt horrible this past week as I made a promise to a family that I didn't follow through on. Last week one of the precious families we have come to know was facing a major medical challenge. I made a promise to come by and pray with this family on Wednesday as they were heading out of town for surgery on Thursday.


I was just about to crawl into bed on Wednesday and realized I had not followed through. It was not intentional, I simply forgot. I got up early that Thursday morning and drove to their home but they had already left town. I was deeply saddened and disappointed. This is not how I want to operate, I want to deliver on what I say!

Tonight I went over to the house of the family and made an apology. I expressed my sincere apology for not coming by when I said I would. I did not make excuses, I simply said I had let them down and I was sorry. This mom told me that she forgave me and that she was glad I came by to visit. Even though we were just there for a few minutes, I felt so much better when we left.


As we build relationships, we need to be faithful to our word. When we mess up, we need to fess up! I am glad people believe in us and I want our words to be sincere! I value greatly the amazing people God gives us the honor of serving!