Mom Heart Moments #241

Her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.

WE ARE ALL BROKEN, and this world we live in is a broken place, where death of heart, of relationships, of love is prevalent. Often we mask deep, dark feelings of regret over various failures.

Moral failure before marriage, failure to create an intimate marriage, or fostering anger and resentment in marriage and then feeling like a failure for never being able to become close or get rid of our pettiness . . .

Failure with our children, having shown anger or neglect to them, not really liking them, or doing everything we could to reach their hearts but ending up with a prodigal who breaks our heart . . .

Failure with friends, petty quarrels, difficulty forgiving and forgetting . . .

Living with habits such as eating disorders, overspending, cherishing idols we know consume our souls, reading dark novels, or more darkness with sexual habits than we can admit . . .

We are all broken people. Yet, we must understand that He does not define us by our failures. He is “mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14). It is an illusion that anyone you know is perfect or can become perfect through lots of effort. No one can. All we like sheep have gone astray. We simply cannot hold to our ideals by striving toward them, and we are all in total need of His mercy and grace every day.

We want to serve Him. We want to be holy. We intend to be gracious, loving, and patient. But we all fail and fall short, again and again and again.

So, do not judge others —or yourself! —but love outrageously, deeply, compassionately, just as He, gentle in spirit, has loved you. And in consequence, we will see love —deep, grateful, healing love —abounding, flowing out all over, because of Him.

Knowing you’ve received forgiveness from God is the first step to offering it to ourselves. Do you need to forgive yourself for something today?