Day 1 - Wherever You Are: Grace for Moms

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NLT)

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, NLT)

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6, NLT)

“I’m sorry. Gabe, I’m so sorry.” I had let my anger get out of control. I yelled rough things at him. I hurt him with my words. His face dropped, and his sister Natalie looked at me with eyes wide and scared. Despite my apology and their quiet murmurs of forgiveness, I felt shame descend on me as my children quickly headed to a different room to avoid being screamed at once more.

I was still in the middle of carrying out a victory over anger. With God’s help, I had overcome its stronghold in my life. That didn’t mean I never messed up. It meant anger no longer controlled me. But I had to make the decision to use the strategies and truths I had learned. My eruptions were becoming less and less frequent, but I still yelled and failed more than I wanted—especially with the stress of a new baby and minimal sleep. I repented, but I continued to feel ashamed. I knew better. Can I really ask forgiveness for the same thing I did last week and might do again tomorrow?

It wasn’t only the anger. There were so many times throughout the day when I did, thought, or said the wrong thing, no matter how hard I tried. I considered myself a complete failure as a mom and couldn’t reconcile the words of God’s promises with the sin and shortcomings I was still struggling with. How could I believe I was holy and live in the reality of my failures at the same time?

Ironically, the very thing that I thought would condemn me actually freed me. I started reading through the Bible in a different translation that made it harder to skip over verses I had memorized and sang songs about but had not really ever “heard.” Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), and he is also the Truth (John 14:6). So the more time I spent with the Word, the more time I spent with the Truth. And that Truth began to set me free (John 8:32).

God welcomes us to come before his throne with our heads held up, not dragged down by guilt. When we enter his presence, we do so as beloved and blameless daughters. Because of Christ, we don’t need to fear being shunned or shamed. He gives us his mercy for our failures and his assistance when we need it most. So we can approach the throne as his children, confident of our Father’s favor and desire to help.

Declare Out Loud over Yourself

• God desires to give me his mercy, his help, and his grace (based on Hebrews 4:16).

Declare Out Loud over Your Child

• God desires to give [child’s name] his mercy, his help, and his grace.

Connect with Your Heavenly Father

• What is one (or more) thing(s) you’re thankful for? What is something you appreciate about who God is? Set a timer for one minute. Wherever you are, pause and rest in his presence.