I don’t have it all together, but I have grace.
I lost my computer a few weeks ago. I tell you this to assure you that I do not have it all together. I am a mess just like every other mom (and parent) on the planet. On rare occasions, I might feel like a rockstar mom, but on the regular, I feel like I have messed everything up and wonder how many years of therapy I might have to invest in for my kids, to make it “right” (insert clever emoji here).
But, I have to remind myself that it’s not about me. While our mess-ups as parents affect how our kids turn out, we are not the end-all-be-all. When we think parenting is all about us, we discount the Lord’s hand in the process.
Recently, while straightening up my daughter’s room, I stumbled upon her prayer journal. It was so sweet to see she had prayers written out for herself and for her loved ones. Finding that journal just melted my mama heart and reminded me how important it is to endure the race every Sunday morning because being in church has an eternal impact on every member of the family.
The Lord gave my husband and I these kids for a reason, and we have to trust He has enough grace to cover us and all the mistakes we make along the way on the journey through parenting.
The grace and forgiveness we offer our kids when they “mess up” is a small representation of the grace the Lord extends to us when we make mistakes, and we all do. As parents, we generally feel like we mess up all the time. We are responsible for these fragile human beings, physically and emotionally, and sometimes we make the wrong decisions. Sometimes our initial reaction to a mistake our kids make might not be the most gracious one. Sometimes, we yell when we shouldn’t or say things in a way that we didn’t mean. Trust me, I’ve been there.
One thing you may be doing right as a parent
I can tell you one thing I know for certain: if you are taking your family to church any day of the week, you are doing something right. There is nothing better you can do for your family than teach them about the Lord. Getting involved with church, youth groups, Bible camps, etc., is what will have a lasting impact on your family. Building a firm foundation, founded in Christ, is the best gift you can ever give your kids.
You might be thinking, “But, we are so busy, we don’t have time for church.”
Trust me, I have been there too. Sleep deprived and unable to even think about getting my family out the door on Sunday morning, I’ve been there. Stressed out on Sunday, yelling, and trying to get everyone ready and out the door to church on time — been there, too! Trust me, that basically happens weekly in our house.
The enemy is real and the one thing he wants is for you to not get your family to church. He wants you to feel stressed and overwhelmed at the thought of it to prevent you from going and to prevent the solid foundation of Truth getting into the hearts and lives of your children.
Don’t let the enemy win.
You got this, mama.
As stressful as it might be, you do your best to get that sweet family of yours out the door. Even if you have to walk in 10 minutes late feeling like you’re doing the walk of shame into service. I’ve totally been there. Even on the days we manage to get out the door on time it almost never fails that one of my kids has a meltdown about going into the nursery or having their nursery sticker stuck not exactly how they would like (on that day) causing me to walk into service late. Again.
Some days, no matter what we do, especially Sundays, it seems like nothing can go right. Do you feel me? I assure you, though, that race to Sunday morning service — that spiritual battle you face each week to get yourself through the doors of the church — is worth it. It is worth every tear, every nursery sticker meltdown, every sock on “not right.” It’s worth every ounce of stress you might face because getting through those church doors on Sunday morning is the best thing you can do for your family.
Has there ever been a time that you got to church and regretted it? Maybe getting there was tough, but once you sat down, prayed and worshipped, did the Lord just melt the stress away? You can finally take a deep breath, relax, sip your coffee and really take in the peace of the Lord. That peace is such a gift to us, part of God’s grace, reminding us that the gift we are giving our kids is the best thing for them.
I think it’s safe to say that if there’s one thing in life you won’t regret, it would be getting to church and instilling that firm foundation of truth and faith into your family. Like I said, there are days I feel like I am doing it all wrong (you’ve probably been there too), but if you’re getting that family of yours to church, then you are absolutely doing it right, my friend.
The blessing of taking our children to church is priceless. It bears eternal fruit, and we even start to notice changes in them. My kids are all still pretty young, but I have already seen them grow in maturity, love, kindness, compassion and generosity, among so many other Christ-like characteristics. It’s amazing to see their little hearts grow and transform as they learn Godly values.
That’s a priceless reward we get to witness as parents when we lead by example. May we give the Lord our time each week and get our families to church. It’s worth it!
