I thought about failing a lot as a child. I knew what would happen if I failed in my school work, or if I failed to practice for my piano lessons or if I failed to make curfew. It wasn’t that I feared the failure but I surely feared the consequences that would come with it.
When I thought of the type of mother I would be I never considered that I may fail. I would have the best children who would never be angry with me or throw tantrums in public. They would never been seen in the yard wearing only a diaper or with lunch on their faces. They would always be obedient and I would certainly never yell at them.
Yesterday, my three year old son ran out into the yard in his birthday suit to play basketball with the neighbors. I made three of my six children cry this morning before 8 a.m. I’m certain that my daughter has a chocolate milk mustache and I can’t remember the last time she had chocolate milk. I bribed them to clean up their classroom with McDonald’s cheeseburgers and yesterday my “much to old to throw a fit child” had a meltdown in Target over a bathing suit.
I am #winning at this mothering thing.
I’m not saying those are failures but they certainly aren’t the dreamy days I’d imagined.
Most days I am just managing little people and their problems. Every moment isn’t filled with magic and marshmallows. Which is kinda sad because I love marshmallows. And some days I do feel like I am failing them.
On those days I have to remember that God placed each of these children into my care. While I will fail them, He never will. When I fall short I can show my children an imperfect momma who relies fully on a perfect God. He can be glorified in my errors. His strength is perfected in my weakness. His grace is sufficient for me. And praise God that every morning His mercies are new.
I think failure is a natural part of parenting just as it’s a natural part of life. Learn the lesson, pick yourself up and try again tomorrow. Parenting is hard and failure is real but God is faithful.