The Night I Failed As A Mother

My sister said I had to write about this story in the blog. If you are a parent, I'm sure you can identify with me in my moment of failure. It all started when my friend, Mariska, and I were discussing how sad the school environment has gotten in regards to strong families and morals. We both agreed that having a strong, Christ-centered home was essential! It was then that I realized that my sweet, innocent Katelyn would be starting kindergarten in only a year and a half! A sense of urgency overtook me and I determined to make sure to do all I could to give Katelyn an excellent foundation.

Then ... later that night, I proceeded to act out my plan. Time after time I insisted that Katelyn come sit with me. Each time she was totally distracted and not into it. "Katelyn, it is so important that you know God loves you so much!" She goes to get a toy. I call her back. "Katelyn, there are people who will tell you that God isn't real but they just don't understand." Katelyn is not paying attention. I speak a little louder. "Katelyn, it is really important that you love them and tell them that God is real and loves them too!" She's still not listening. I'm getting frustrated and urgently grab her to get her to listen to me. "Katelyn, would you like to learn a memory verse? Let's memorize a Bible verse!" ... It went downhill from there.

By the end of the night, I am SO frustrated and Katelyn is SO frustrated and my frustration has turned into trying to put her into bed. I find myself literally pushing her down onto the bed saying, "Katelyn, you need to go to bed!" and she is pushing back at me, "Mom, you're fighting me!" That's really what she said.

Later that night, Mike is laughing and tells me, "Joy, it is good for you to want to teach Katelyn about good, Godly values, but you don't have to cram it down her throat all in one night!" As I looked back over the night, I couldn't help but laugh. What a great witness of the love of Jesus!

I called Katelyn over and told her I was sorry for fighting with her and that I loved her and was so proud of her. She melted and told me she was sorry too, that she loved me, and gave me a huge hug! It was a moment of sweet redemption.

I'm sure that all parents will agree with me when I say that I am SO VERY GLAD that I have God to help me raise my children because I will fail. Oh, how I will fail. But by God's beautiful grace, I trust that Katelyn will grow up to love her Savior, despite my failings, or maybe even because of them! :)