A couple of months ago my friend witnessed one of my boys doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. Immediately I began the internal dialogue of worrying about what she was thinking and then trying to convince myself not to care.
Do you know that one?
After four boys and the fishbowl of ministry, I thought I had run the gamut of the judging game. Being on the receiving end of another mom’s judgmental comments, looks, or gossip can be one of the most demoralizing aspects of motherhood. We mamas are hard enough on ourselves without other people’s criticism!. So, in this instance, even though I knew this friend was not like that, I still braced my heart for it.
“He is a wonderful boy, and you are an amazing mom,” she said.
Her words poured grace over my wavering heart. Her words were a gift, showing me that she saw beyond his actions and saw his heart, and in doing that, she saved mine that day too. Being on the receiving end of grace and love can be just the thing we need to see us through.
Ephesians 4:29 says:
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (NIV)
The Message says, “each word a gift.”
What if we gave grace instead of judgment, our words a gift to a struggling mama?
What if we put a hand on a weary shoulder and told her we get it, that we’ve been there?
What if we embraced that mama and told her she was doing just fine?
What if we whispered, “Hang on, tomorrow is a new day!”?
What if we offered words of hope that lift with the feelings of being understood, hope for better days ahead?
Could we put aside our judgments to see the precious hearts of the children being trained, finding their way to a savior in a sinful world? Can we see into the hearts of other mothers who may be struggling, in a place we may not be able to understand, but can still encourage?
Just the other day, another child had done something to my son. Being fairly easy going, he didn’t make a big deal about it, but I prepared to speak to the mom about the behavior. I saw that she had a lot on her plate right then, with the possibility of becoming discouraged or overwhelmed with another report on this child. So, I decided to just let it go.
I explained to my son why I decided to not speak to the mom, and he interrupted me with, “Yep, I get it. Let’s show them some grace. That’s good with me, Mom.”
It flowed so easily from his little heart. I want it to flow that easily from mine.
Today, can you join me to look around for other mamas to show some grace to?
Let’s build each other up, seeing the needs around us, embracing each other with gifts of grace.
