No Charge - Shirley Caesar

My sister’s little boy came into the kitchen

One evening while she was fixing supper

And he handed her a piece paper

He had been writing on And after wiping her hands on an apron

She took it in her hands and she read it And this is what it said

For mowing the yard, five dollars

And for making up my own bed this week, one dollar

For going to the store, fifty cents

And playing with little brother while you went shopping, twenty-five cents

Taking out the trash, one dollar

And for getting a good report card, five dollars

And for raking the yard, two dollars

Total owed, fourteen seventy-five

Well, she looked at him standing there and expecting

And a thousand memories flashed through her mind

So she picked up pen and turned the paper over

And this is what she wrote

For the 9 months I carried you

Holding inside me, no charge

For the nights I sat up with you

Doctored you, prayed for you, no charge

For the time and the tears and the costs through the years

There is no charge

When you add it all up the full cost of my love

Is no charge

For the nights filled with gray

And the worries ahead, no charge

For the advice and the knowledge

And the costs of your college, no charge

For the toys, food and clothes

And for wiping your nose there’s no charge son

When you add it all up the full cost of my love

Is no charge

Well, you know when I think about that

I think about the day that Jesus went out on Calvary

And gave His life as a ransom for me When I think on the words, if any man be in Christ, he’s a new creature

I like to think about the very minute that He shed His blood

My debt was paid in full

And I want you to know today

When you add it all up the full cost of real love is no charge