Trust

It occurs to me that much of my frustration and stress lately has to do with a lack of trust. I am quite suspicious and wary of anyone these days, and with good reason.

We send our kids to school, trusting they will be taught, above all else, how to get along in our culture. Secondary, is the academics. We don't need to know everything under the Sun before the age of 18. We have the rest of our lives to learn all the facts that inspire us. I have learned more as an adult than I ever did in school, when my only job was to learn.

We believe the school transportation office when they give pick up times and location, and assure our children will safely reach their destination. We trust the bus driver to do their duty. We trust the hiring agent to have chosen wisely. We trust the students to behave accordingly, so the driver can focus on driving.

We trust the court system to enforce court orders and follow due diligence when parents don't pay their child support.

We trust ex-husbands and ex-wives to do everything in their power to pay the child support, hoping they are as devoted to their children as they claim to be.

We trust other adults in the supervision of our children, and trust that they would err on the side of caution in exposing our kids to certain experiences.

We trust employers to uphold their end of the employment contract by keeping schedules and paying wages in a timely manner.

We trust other drivers on the road to follow road rules and be considerate on the road. Everyone's safety depends on it - drivers, passengers, pedestrians.

Every decision we make as adults requires a significant amount of trust that the other part will keep their word. In the end, that's all we really have. Money, incomes, comes and goes. People move in and out of our lives. But our word is our sacred bond, and only ours to uphold.

It is our precious responsibility to say what we mean, and mean what we say. I teach my children that their words have meaning. If they repeatedly say things they don't mean, people will no longer believe their words.

And in the absence of trust, I find that I live on faith alone. Faith that the justice system will work. Faith that my children will have an uneventful day of learning at school. Faith that I will still have a job to go to tomorrow.

And when that faith proves faulty, when promises are broken, I close my eyes and pray deeply that God has a plan. Because I can only be accountable for my promises so that others can have trust in me.