For the days when….

everyone thinks you’re the worst mom ever…including you.  Can I offer you a cup of coffee and a word of encouragement?

She “hates” math.  You make her do it anyway.

He is jumping off the walls…and every thing else.  You send him to bed.

The babies climb up on the brick fireplace.  You begin the long process of teaching them what “no” means.

And the day only goes downhill from there.

Your patience, your temper and your mind…all are lost by the time your husband walks through the door, looking hungry and longingly at the stove where remnants of the supper you just burned linger in the air like the cries from the high chairs that say milk is not what they wanted and they are having none of it.

Before you finally go to bed, you will rehearse the day in your mind over and over again, and if you’re like me, the parts you will regret the most are not the tantrums of your children, but your reactions to them.

And, the truth is that no one could think you are a bigger failure than you do.  And, no one else would accuse you quite as vehemently as the voice in your own head.

But…

there is a new day to wake up to in the morning, and just like the dew that covers the early morning world outside your window is fresh, everything else about today is new, too.

That is grace.

He lets us try again and gives us the strength to do so.

And, he uses our failures as often as he uses our victories, I think.

To teach us…and them.

The way we handle our weakness will teach them as much as much as how we handle our strength.  Because in both we need grace.

And, to see us rely on the grace God gives to keep going will teach them how to persevere.

The humility we show when we ask for help or for forgiveness will help them learn to be humble, too.

And, the way we “stick to our guns” when it comes to behavior will help them learn about conviction and commitment….and obedience.

And, though it is a hard-fought battle, it will be worth it in the end.

So, friend, hang in there.  Hang your hope on God’s promises and hold tight to them.  He who started the work in you (and them!) will be faithful to complete it.

Trust him.  “He who called you is faithful, and he will do it.”