Lent day 31: Cringe worthy moments in motherhood

Motherhood is full of moments that make me cringe.... like when you are walking down a street and your little boy pulls down his pants to pee on a street or walks up to a stranger and say "hey,  I said hi, why didn't you say hi to me. " 

Licking things off the floor

Sharing an ice cream with the dog

And the list goes on...

And on

And on... 

But the worst cringe moment for me is when I hear my voice coming out of their mouths. I'm in the kitchen cleaning up and they are playing and get into a dispute.  I then hear some sharp thing I would say come out of one of their mouths.  They totally got that from me.  

My heart sinks. 

I feel as condemned as Peter hearing the cock crow. 

My moments of weakness and stress reflected right back at me in the innocent mouths of those babies. 

It's easy enough to hide from myself in the hallway mirror where I know how to look at my good side, but what about those department store mirrors.  

EVERY

SINGLE

IMPERFECTION. 

How do they even sell clothes anyways?

Children are like having department store mirrors following me around reminding me of every character flaw. The times I let anger get the best of me. The way I judge them unfairly. My need to control things.  Uuuuggg. So unflattering. 

But accepting what's really there. Taking the truth and owning it, repenting for it and allowing grace to flow in over it, I can allow the Spirit to mold me anew.  I can let my spirit be broken and allow God to shine through the cracks.  I can find a way to teach my children a better way.

It is holy week. We are all broken vessels and jars of clay. May this week, this season open our hearts to grace ever allowing us to be remade by the one who loves perfectly.