Bad Moments Don’t Make Bad Moms

Bad Moments Don’t Make Bad Moms

Lysa TerKeurst

Do you ever feel like the ping-pong ball in a heated match between your good mom self and your bad mom self? Here is how this vicious game works in my life …

Much to my daughter’s delight, I volunteer to keep the class guinea pig over spring break. Good mom!

Two weeks before spring break, our pet hamster has an accident and makes an early exit from this world. I get a letter from the principal informing me that, due to the unfortunate hamster situation, we have been deemed unfit guinea pig babysitters. Bad mom!

I delight the teacher by showing up on time to read to the class. Good mom!

That same day, I get an email from a teacher listing three parents who haven’t turned in permission slips and I’m on the list for all the world to see. Bad mom!

I make sure my kids pack something healthy for lunch. Good mom! The schedule falls apart and I feed them sugary cereal for dinner. Bad mom!

I desperately want to be a good mom. And sometimes I feel like I am—when life is clicking along with good attitudes, healthy hamsters, turned-in permission slips, and a pot roast for dinner. But let’s be honest. The days where everything turns out right are sometimes few and far between. And I find myself feeling like a failure.

I need the truth of the apostle Paul’s promise: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5). God’s grace is always willing to step in. Not that it excuses me from being more patient, organized, or responsible, but it reminds me of what I need to hear: Lysa, you are doing better than you think you are. My love for you is great! Stop bouncing from feeling good to bad to good to bad. In the good times, rejoice and thank Me. In the not so good times, call out to Me quickly.

With God, we’re never bad moms. We might be having a bad moment … or two … or seventeen. But a few bad moments do not define us. God’s grace is there to cover us; teach us; and even in the middle of a bad moment, interrupt us, redirect us, and change us.

You are a good mom, my friend—even if, like me, you’ve had a few bad moments. You are the exact mom God knew these children needed. Live in that truth today.

Dear Lord, I’m thankful Your grace is always there to cover me. Help me to stop bouncing between feeling good and feeling bad. Teach me, redirect me, and change me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

You might be having a bad moment … or two … or seventeen. But God’s grace is there to cover and teach you.

REFLECT

Think back on moments you’ve felt like a bad mom. What ways can you see God’s grace in showing you were actually a good mom?

RESPOND

Set an example for your children today by finding the good in something they do for which you normally would scold them. For example, if they spill their milk while pouring it, instead of getting upset at the mess, praise them for their help in cleaning it up.

POWER VERSES

Colossians 3:15; Colossians 2:13