I don’t know about you but when I got married and dreamt about having kids my kids were going to act appropriately! They were not going to throw temper tantrums in the store. They were not going to back talk their parents. They were not going to openly disobey me. Then I had kids and that dream went out the window! The tantrums, the whining, the disobedience, and the back talk it is all there!
With my “perfect” children dream out the window, my parenting dream went out the window too. There are days that I am harsher than I should be; words come out of my mouth that shouldn’t. There are days the discipline doesn’t match the crime; the kids are grounded way longer than they really need to be. There are days that I simply don’t want to deal with whatever it is and I choose not to address it. My dream parenting didn’t have any of those behaviors in it!
Lamentations 3:22-23 notes, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” With my “perfect” parenting and “perfect” children out the window these verses are filled with such hope! The love I receive and my children receive from the Lord never ceases! It does not matter how imperfect we were throughout the day. The best part, His mercies are new every morning!
Each and every morning you wake up; remember it is a new beginning! Share with your children how gracious our Lord is and thank Him for this new day and the ability to start out with a clean slate!
