Character Counts

I couldn't even spell it this morning. Like, for real.  Rylie was being honored for good character at school today so I was writing her an "I'm so proud" note for her lunch. I stuck a puffy sticker (of a cute dog) on the notecard, and with a red pen, the only pen I could find, I wrote "Character Ch" stopping after the "h" because I'd messed up on the word counts. I started over because I wanted the lunch note honoring her good citizenship to look presentable.

That was hardly my worst moment this morning. My buffer is gone. Jason's been in Dallas. He's usually the calm in the morning storm. I was snippy with the kids. I shared my dislike for Hallie's ill-fitting jeans right at a time that it would be too late for her to change them. I yanked Rylie's tangles in effort to save the extra seconds it would take to brush gently. Instead of being a breath of fresh air this morning, I breathed fire, lighting a fire under all three kids. Move it!

And all this in effort to be on time.

Because being on time counts; or at least that's what I told myself. The fact that I already had a supper roast cooking this morning by 7:00 AM counts. Homework was finished. Devotion was done. Lunch got packed; with a note that said "Character Counts" (spelled correctly). Folders were signed. I even ironed a shirt and curled my hair this morning for crying out loud. As Rylie and I walked in the front door of school, we were sticking a bobby pin in her hair for her makeshift hairdo, just as the Pledge of Allegiance was starting; technically not late. That counts.

As I hugged Rylie half shoving her down the hall to her classroom to check in, I whispered to her that good character is the thing that matters the most. But so very many times, it's the quality we focus on, only when time or our mood allows.

Character counts.

Even when you're running late. Especially when you're running late.

Character counts when your better half is out of town on the very days you don't feel well and your dog tired.

It counts when no one is looking. How you act when no one is looking is probably the truest test of character.

Character counts when the people around you act like it doesn't. It counts despite your making excuses like "We're late!" or "I am stressed out" or "I just have road rage" or "You are making this SO much worse"......

It counts more than punctuality or good looks. It nourishes the soul better than roast and potatoes or a cute card for your daughter's lunch.

It's not a separate quality from your ambition or your brilliance. Character is the one quality that is tied in every other quality that exists.

Character counts when people have treated you unkindly, or your kids unfairly.

So in your days, go ahead and put on your roast. Put on your freshly ironed shirt or the shirt you wore Monday (It's of little matter). Put on your smile that tells the world your checklist is going great. But more than anything…..

¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3

Because seriously, what else matters?