Wednesday, 9:56 pm on Facebook

“Promised Katie the zoo tomorrow. Need to get to bed so I can be fun mommy. Goodnight all!”

10:12 pm, Comment reply from Nicole

“Spring break – beware!! We’ve done this before and I would highly discourage you! Not to be a stick in the mud but you may end up waiting in long, long lines of traffic and to get in, etc. I vowed never to return during Spring Break again!! Next week will be so much better. Anyhow, just my 2 cents. ; )”

Well, a promise is a big deal in our house, so we were going no matter what. I mean, how bad could it be? I would just make sure we got there 15 minutes before they opened.

I started getting nervous when the freeway exit to the zoo was backed up for a mile. There were policemen directing traffic. It could be wreck, I thought, maybe even hoped. I know that’s bad. I was wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

I was wrong to think spring break was no big deal. Apparently the day before we arrived attendance numbers topped 25,000. Yikes!

Considering the inevitable

Just getting near the zoo took the assistance of no less that 15 police officers directing traffic. As I waited to enter, I toyed with the idea of going home. But I decided to stick it out for the sake of keeping my word. Then I started to worry: “What if I can’t even get in?” “What if I can’t keep my promise?”

It was then that I realized, maybe for the first time, that I will be forced at times to break my word to my children. I tell them I am going to pick them up and get a flat tire instead. Whatever it is, however it happens . . . I am going to hate it.

But it didn’t happen today. We made it in! Granted, we walked through the entrance just thirty-minutes before I had originally planned to leave. Granted, I had to pee so bad I wanted to cry but the restrooms were packed like sardines and there was no way I could get a stroller in there.

But we got in . . . and we headed straight for the elephants. She’d been talking about them all week long.

Fortunately for me, they were in a playful mood. They used their trunks to curl hay and toss sticks around. Katie looked on with an expression of wonder I’ve never seen before. Then she whispered, “Mommy promised.”

I almost cried. I had no idea she would remember what I’d said days before . . . that she would hold it in her heart. I had no idea that keeping this promise to her would even really matter.

The rest of our trip was icing.

She LOVED the “Merry Go Round-and-Round” a.k.a. her first carousel ride. This is the horse she picked out.

Isn’t her expression sweet? I love my girl!

She loved the lions. Let me tell you, they put on quite a show. When we first arrived they looked like this:

Then, the female lion gets up and starts nuzzling her bunkmate. Everyone is cooing about how sweet it is until — to the shock and horror of every parent present — he gets up and gets frisky. It was hilarious watching some people try to take pictures and being really embarrassed about it while most of the parents quickly tried to move their kids on.

At least they cuddled afterward. See?

The moral of the story

This whole day got me thinking about promises. I love my children (yes I am talking to you Baby D!) and I want them to trust me. But the truth is, I do not have absolute control over all circumstances. Though it won’t stop me from trying, I am inherently unreliable because I’m human.

Then I started thinking about God and how he promised us things in his Word. Unlike us, he has the power to keep every single promise he makes. I am not a bible scholar, but great things can be accomplished through Google searches. If you’re interested, there’s a comforting list of God’s promises here.Similar Posts:

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