We all have those moments when we realize we have messed up teaching our children something. I don’t necessarily mean just when it comes to schooling, but also life skills.
This week has had some of those moments for me. It has been a tough week for me physically, and I have really felt like I haven’t done well teaching my little ones. Thoughts swirl through my head, like:
- “They don’t know how to properly do their chores because I haven’t taught them correctly.”
- “They procrastinate because I have taught them to, through my example.”
- “Their moments of defiance are from my lack of consistent discipline.”
I know these are not helpful or Godly thoughts, but it is hard to stop them. These are the times when I feel like I am failing. I know that my children are individuals, making their own decisions, but as their mother I can’t help to feel that I could have done a better job.
When we are feeling down, not knowing how to move on, we need to turn to God for our strength and encouragement. We are weak, and God needs to be our strength. As women, many times I think are weakness is an emotional one. Most of us are capable to continue physically, but sometimes it’s just our feelings that keep us from excelling.
On those days when you feel like you haven’t done your best:
- Take a few minutes to spend with God, focused on Him and His words. I found a verse that was a real help to me: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10
- Ask God for forgiveness where we have lacked, and accept His forgiveness. If we continue to wallow in our inadequacies we are not truly accepting God’s forgiveness.
- Write out any changes you want to make. If you have neglected an area of training, spend some extra time focusing on it. Even small steps of improvement can add up to make a huge difference.
- Last, but not least, go hug your kiddos. They love you, and probably have no clue you feel you have failed them in any way.
Once we start having these negative thoughts, feeling as though we have let our children down, it can be tough to break out of them. Most of the time the things we are worried about are not detrimental to our children’s ultimate outcome or ability to follow God. Knowing that God is with us and will strengthen us gives us the courage to move on.
Great post. Love the “go hug your kids.” It really works! They are so forgiving and loving! When we feel like a failure, it is usually because we have believe the enemy’s lies… which is what I posted about today, too! Thanks for being vulnerable. Visiting from Denise in Bloom
Great point! We need to make sure we’re striving after God’s goals for our parenting, not anyone else’s. Thanks for coming by and commenting!
It saddens me how often I find myself thinking these “failure” thoughts! Satan is at work in those moments! Thanks for this post, I can completely relate! Your tips are excellent
I’m glad you found this to be helpful. You’re right it is sad how quickly Satan can effect us with these thoughts. The more we turn to God and His promises, the better we can fight these off.
Thanks for commenting.
This is a great post! I love that Bible verse and repeat it to myself often. It is hard not to get into the I am a failure funk isn’t it?
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Glad you liked this, Melissa. I agree, it is tough not to fall into that trap. I keep thinking that I am going to write out different verses that help me in different situations. Thanks for commenting!