Hey mama, you’re not supposed to be perfect.⠀
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You’re not called to perfection. Actually….That would be some crippling sort of goal for your kids to live up to if you were.
I mean, can you imagine? Some of us HAVE grown up thinking our parents (or at least one of them) was perfect in one area of life or another.
Was that you? Did you grow up always attempting to be perfect like they were – only to be crushed by the results of your incapability of perfection? ⠀
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Instead of perpetuating this cycle, just show them your brokenness. ⠀
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Show them your failures. ⠀
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Show them how you HANDLE those things. Show them how you apologize, how you repent, how you don’t give up just because something is hard to do well. ⠀
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We don’t get to just magically stop apologizing because we are “grown-ups.” Show them this to be true. ⠀
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Model the behaviors that you expect from those precious little humans you’ve been placed in charge of. They will learn so much more from your behavior than from the words you repeat to/around them. ⠀
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Teach them these things so they can grow up without the crushing goal of perfection. Free them from that by your example. Be the mom who models for her children what it looks like to apologize when she behaves wrongly against her children and/or spouse.
If you don’t, who will? When they grow up and marry, these behaviors won’t just come about naturally to them. They are sinners in need of a Savior, just like you are. Let them see that, and let them see how to maneuver those moments.
Train them. That’s our job, right?⠀
Let’s be real, though…It’s not easy to apologize to a 5 year old who just spent the last 10 minutes screaming at your face… ⠀
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BUT it is IMPORTANT to do so, bc in that moment, it’s not about her behavior. It’s about yours. ⠀
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Apologizing for losing your cool and screaming back at her? Getting down on her level? Getting real eye contact and letting her see the honest repentance in your eyes and tone? ⠀
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That’s a HUGE deal, mama. ⠀
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Don’t underestimate the power of your kids seeing that you’re human and a sinner in need of grace – just like they are. It might be one of the most important gifts you can give them.⠀
