Mom Heart Moments #333

The LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has.”

MOTHERHOOD IS A NEVER-ENDING sacrifice of your time, effort, body: yourself. You are working uphill against sinful little creatures who insist on making messes every day and aren’t always grateful for all you do for their good. They do not like it when you push against their little selfish wills, so they have various ways of pushing back.

During the toddler years, they fall on the floor and throw a fit because you didn’t let them eat the candy they wanted. In the teen years, they question your wisdom and integrity and know just where to put in the knife. After all, none of us have been perfect, and we all have flaws, and our children tend to discover most of them.

Then there are always Job’s friends in the crowd —those people who are quite sure they know why your life is not going well and what you have done wrong to make your life such a mess. Yet Job’s friends were quite wrong! Job was being persecuted by Satan because Satan thought if a person were persecuted, he could not remain loyal to God. God had actually chosen Job as a model of integrity and faith, and Job’s friends could not have been more wrong in their statements about his demise.

So don’t pay too much attention to the critics. Their voices, though sometimes strong, are just part of journeying through this pathway of parenting and life. But let us seek to accept our limitations, create joy to refuel and keep going, get perspective, and please the One who is always going to be on our team —our heavenly Father, whose voice is always there to encourage.

How can you accept your limitations and tune out the voices of your critics —even your own children?