Mom Heart Moments #334

What I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, I was sitting in my bedroom having a wonderful quiet time. I felt spiritually set for my day. Then, I walked into our living room.

There, among all of my best, breakable “stuff,” were my boys, having an exuberant pillow fight. They hit some button I didn’t even know I had. I went ballistic, giving them the lecture of their lives. They didn’t know what hit them!

When it was over, I was as shocked as they were. How could I have just had a quiet time and then, not sixty seconds later, acted out in such ugly, frustrated anger? Of course, guilt and remorse pointed their accusing fingers at me. How dare you speak and write books on motherhood? You have probably scarred the boys for life!

Women carry all sorts of guilt on their shoulders. Many feel they have failed so badly there is no return, but God is always the God of second chances.

Abraham lied about Sarah, claiming she was only his sister, putting her in a compromising position with a foreign king. Moses killed a man and later lost his temper right after being on a mountain in the presence of God. Peter denied Jesus after living with Him for three years. Paul persecuted Christians before he was confronted by Christ on the road to Damascus.

The more I see how prone I am to stumble, the more humble I have had to become. I love Him more and more because I know how fallen I am, and yet He still loves me and is patient with me as I grow up, little by little.

If you’re tempted to give up on yourself, remember God never will! He is the God of second chances; He is mindful we are but dust. Let Him pick you up and dust you off, then begin anew.