Counting the cost

What does it mean to count the cost?

Luke 14:28 For which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and counting the cost whether he has enough to complete it.

Proverbs 20:25 It is foolish and rash to make a promise to the Lord before counting the cost.

Figuring out the Cost

There are many things that we need to figure out when we are counting the cost. Finances certainly,  but there are also many other things. Promises,  when we say we are going to do something do we follow through.? Do we have the ability to do this?  Energy,  when I make plans I have to know if it’s something I can do.  I also have to plan to be down the next day or two. Is it worth it?

Am I Counting the Cost

Last week I took my children to the beach. This is something that we were not able to do the last four summers.  I’d had sepsis  two summers and surgery the alternating last two summers. I have been looking forward all summer to taking them to the beach and I finally got my Crow  Walker off the week before. We did find out it was a long walk to the beach but had a sidewalk to part of it so I did take my chair and they pushed me down the sidewalk. But then was the long walk to the beach. It was beautiful to see the  lake. It was an extremely long slow walk, but we made it. One thing I didn’t plan on was getting up. I haven’t been down on the ground in months. And trying to get up on sand was a little bit tricky and unfortunately I needed my children to help. Then I tried going out in the water with them. We had driven quite a ways to go up to Lake Michigan. It’s beautiful up there in the summer and they had waves  we saw people boogie-boarding and even a few surfing, not to mention the sailboats out. My youngest had ever been to a beach that had the waves like that, he loved them.So I went out to the water with him and did not even think about the buffeting of waves and how uneven the sand is in the lake. I could barely stand up and almost fell over a couple times. My two youngest children  had to help support me to keep me from falling. It was humiliating.  The only good thing is that it was far from home.

Poor Planning

I didn’t think about how difficult sand was to walk in. I didn’t think about waves and  unsteady legs  making me want to topple down. The only thing I thought was that I wanted to take my children to the beach and have a wonderful day and make memories. We did make some good memories. The girls buried their younger brother in the sand.  They made sandcastles and they had a good time in the water. But, if I had thought about it a little bit more I could have  waited until I could have brought another adult with me or waited a couple weeks into my legs are stronger. I also didn’t realize how difficult and how much to recuperating from this trip would take out of me. Uncomfortable, yes and have leg cramps and I would need to rest for a day or so but this was worse than I expected. Because I didn’t plan well enough. I didn’t count the cost. You know, this was still worth it. It was worth how difficult it was. In the smiles of my children’s faces, in the pictures and memories that I have.

We Can Only Use It Once

There’s a saying; we play, we pay.  This applies to a lot of things in life. Everything has a cost. When my children get money and when they get to go to the store they have a choice in how they spend that money. They can buy this thing but then, they can’t by the other and vice a versa. The same goes with time. If we use it here watching a movie then we can’t use it to take a walk or spend time with someone. Also energy. I have to plan what I can do and rest times. Mommies with young children need to plan this too. 

Costs are Finite

Everything has a cost. Time, money, resources, energy, all of these are finite.  We can only use them once.  Then it’s gone.  You will never get that back again. Yes you can make more money. But you can never make more time. So choose wisely. Count the cost. Make the best decision you can.

Do you have trouble counting the costs in life? In what area do you struggle?

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Christina Renee

Hi, I'm Christina, a wife of 33 years, mom of 10 and grandmother of 3. I love to help other Moms with mothering, organizing their homes and routines. I've had a lot of struggles with illness having fibromyalgia and being an amputee. Talking to other moms with the challenges that bring and succeeding in spite of it.

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