If you’re a mom, dad, husband, or wife, chances are you don’t get it right every time. Sometimes it’s your fault and sometimes not. It’s no secret that marriage and parenting bring out the best and worst in people.
Chances are you lose your temper. Chances are you’re not always the picture of patience. Sometimes you get tired. Sometimes you worry. Sometimes you get overly sensitive.
There are times when you give in too quickly–or not quickly enough. There might even be times when you don’t like a dang person in your house. Maybe it feels like all you do is unappreciated or maybe you feel bad for not doing what you think you should.
There have been, are, or will be moments when you can’t stand the person in the mirror. Perhaps you’re fully and completely frustrated on occasion.
I’m guessing there are times when you feel all those things listed above and then you feel guilt and shame and start at the top of the list and do it all over again.
Sometimes, you might even be correct to be a little angry with yourself. Maybe you deserve to verbally reprimand yourself. Maybe you were lazy. Maybe you did take the easy way. Maybe you did say something you shouldn’t have.
I’m not a priest and I don’t have any special power or know if any of these things apply to you, but I’d like to try something anyway:
RECEIVE GRACE.
BE MERCIFUL to yourself.
ACCEPT HELP (or even take a break).
REST.
You might not be as stellar as you’d like to be, and sometimes you might even be downright beastly. I know I’ve sat, head in hand, tears streaming, wondering how I can act or say the things I do sometimes.
The wonderful thing is that the same God that provides grace, also can gently lead in a new direction.
So, around the house…
Do your thing and if you fail…
Accept grace, then…
Learn, grow, get up and…
Try again.
(Rinse, repeat, ad infinitum)
The danger is that we tend to go too easy on ourselves or be way too hard on ourselves.
Can we grow in grace? That’s the challenging solution.








