Let me think about it.......

How many times in a day do you hear someone say the words, "I'm not sure, let me think about it"?  I personally have many examples in my life where I've either said those words or I have just avoided the subject completely by promising something that never comes to be.  There are people on both sides of this subject, those that really and truly need to think about what you are asking of them so that they can make an informed decision.  There are also those that say that so that they don't have to tell you that they don't have time, or they really honestly want to but never really get around to doing what you've asked.  I've fallen into both of these categories.....very rarely do I give a distinct yes or a distinct no when someone asks me to do something, because my life is so demanding already.
In our society today it's absolutely wonderful when someone goes and just does something for someone else when they are asked to do it, let alone when they aren't.
There was an amazing story of a man who heard about the lack of kidneys available for transplant for the 3 year waiting list who just walked into a hospital one day and offered his kidney to whomever it matched.  I'm a transplant patient and if I were healthy I don't know if I would even do that.
I'm not saying walk into your local hospital and save someone's life, but it seems to me that we've lost the art of charity.
We write a check and send it to a charity when we are moved by something that someone else is doing, and there is nothing wrong with that, but when was the last time one of us got our hands dirty in an act of charity?
When did we go and pray at a hospital with strangers that didn't have friends or family to be there for their surgery?
When did we offer to work the line in a soup kitchen EVERY Saturday, not just 2 times a year?
When was the last time that we went to a third world country and lived in a cement hut for just a week to help orphans?
Let's get a little bit more personal here,  when was the last time that a friend had a health issue or needed babysitting, or needed money, and you just assumed that someone else would help them take a shower, or watch their kids, or give them twenty dollars? 
When was the last time that you just spent time with someone without having something else planned an hour later so that they have your full attention for as long as they need it?
When is the last time that you stayed at work longer so that someone else could leave early to go and see their family before you did?
You see, my belief is that charity is sacrifice, and if it isn't, then it's not really something that you are giving for the right reason.  Don't get me wrong, we all do what we can, but do we?
When it's inconvenient for us to drive across town to take dinner to a friend, do we still do it?
When we have to look at the ugliness of sick children do we still go and read them stories in the hospital?
When our parents start to get older, because we have kids and our lives are so much busier than theirs, do we still expect them in their 60s and 70s and 80s expect them to come and visit us?
I'm as guilty as the rest.  But I try not to be.  I try very hard to be committed to the things that I devote myself to, and these days I try very hard to not devote myself to everything, but to make the important things count.
We spread ourselves too thin, and then truly we are not useful to anyone.  When was the last time that you sat down and thought about how you were going to spend your free time and it wasn't about you? When was the last time you didn't plan it but you had some free time and went to help someone else?  Unexpected grace is always an amazing thing.  One of my favorite scriptures says it best,  Matthew 5:34-37:³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. 
So I for one want to cut back on my "let me think about it" statements and leave more free time in my schedule so that my yes is a yes and my no is a no.  I want to truly give and not just phone it in.  I truly hope that I can.

K