Welcome to the last week of The Gentleness Challenge, which originated at Women Living Well.

This week’s post is about realizing and accepting that no mother is going to be perfect and that means we are not going to be perfect, either. God knows this because he made us this way.

That means we’ll mess up, and believe me, sometimes I feel as though I mess up more often that I succeed. God doesn’t want us to dwell on our mistakes though. We need to recognize our mistakes, repent for any sins we’ve committed, forgive ourselves, and move on.

Dwelling on mistakes distracts us from God; it devours our attention so that we can’t give it to God.

Sometimes it feels like no matter how hard we try, we never seem to get anywhere. God tells us in Galatians 6:9,

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart

We need to remember that God sees our struggles and He will help us and guide us (Isaiah 41:10.)

Don’t be too hard on yourselves. If you have a bad day, pray through the day. If you can, go out for a walk. Even if the kids misbehave while you’re out, I find that I’m much less likely to blow my top if I’m out in public.

Tell your kids that you’re going to be trying really hard to never yell in anger. The day after I told my kids that, I started to lose my cool. And of course, my son calmly looks at me and says, “Mama, you’re trying really hard not to yell.”

Telling your kids what you’re trying to do will help keep you accountable. Apologize to your kids when you make a mistake. Showing them how to humble themselves, to apologize and repent is just as important as showing them how to control their behavior in difficult situations.

Did you miss the first weeks of The Gentleness Challenge? You can find them here:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4