I feel excited for the summer and all the great adventures it will bring!  But summers can also feel tiring and overwhelming.  School’s out, the kids feel restless, and we moms just want to rest, preferably on a beach.  Cue my summer series Press On, Mom.  Every week, I will bring you an encouraging picture, words that make my heart relax, and maybe some surprises as well.  Without further ado, here’s the first post. . .

No, You’re the Best!

How was your day today?  Can you recall your successes?  Can you think of the times you fell short?  If you’re anything like me, you minimize your triumphs and dwell on defeat.  But why?  I want to celebrate what I did well and forgive myself for mistakes, knowing I can learn from them.  “Be perfect” God says, but not in a taskmaster sort of way. With gentleness and mercy.  “Try again. Look what you did so well.  I love you so much!”

I remember reading a story about a priest who was walking on an iced-over lake and suddenly fell in the water.  He screamed in full-on panic. And then he became aware of his frantic state and actually laughed at himself. Someone rescued him and he lived to tell the story of a man unsurprised by his weakness.  “Weren’t you embarrassed?” a student asked.  “No,” the priest said, “because I know I am human.”

Sometimes being a mom feels like a wholly immersive and overwhelming experience.  I want to communicate to the kiddoes what treasures they are, but it’s difficult when they just “deliberately disobeyed me,” as Mufasa said.  To be a loving disciplinarian, to be able to become aware in the moment and laugh at ourselves if necessary, while remaining firm.  I want to be that. And I want to forgive quickly.

I have grown to appreciate what one of my four-year-old son’s teachers said. “Don’t make a big deal of his misbehavior.” You want to address it, but not in the tone of Moses giving out the commandments–“Didn’t I tell thou that we do not take toys from someone else’s house?” Give him a consequence and forgive him.  He’s a little human.

A great way to help yourself in this endeavor is to spend time with children your kid’s age.  My friend brought her four-year-old fireball to lunch and I had this great flash of insight, “Oh my God, he’s just like my son.” He even had the same shirt on.  This behavior is age-appropriate.  We address it, but don’t obsess over it.  And after the consequence, we remind him that he is still a treasure.  Always.

That’s got to be a little like how God sees us–with so much mercy and love.  What a blessing to see ourselves, even for a second, as God sees us.  You’re the best!  I love you.  I love you because you’re you.  And as icing on the cake, you’re fighting to become the best version of yourself.

Press on, mom!