We’ve all been there. Or at least I have been there. No matter how much time, effort, prayer and love you put into parenting, there are days you feel like a failure. Even if you love being a mother more than anything in the world, there will be days you wish you were the kid again. It doesn’t really matter the cause, because often there isn’t one glaring thing. Sometimes the lack of sleep, having to instruct your child how to do or not do something for the thousandth time or having a house full of sick people just makes you want to crawl up in a little ball and cry.
Only, for some reason, most moms feel like they can’t really cry. The worried reactions from our kids and husband when we do cry just seem to make it feel like we shouldn’t ever let them know we are discouraged. Somehow it feels like a betrayal or that we are saying we don’t love being a wife and mom. Often we are afraid to open up to other adults for fear they will confirm what we currently secretly suspect – we have no earthly clue what we are doing and we could quite possibly be ruining our kids.
Ever wonder why the Bible tells us Jesus went off by himself and prayed so often? I think Jesus knew exactly what it felt like to be a mom. He spent every day nurturing, instructing, healing and even feeding dozens and often thousands of people. Yet, even God’s Son felt the drain emotionally, physically and spiritually (John 4:6, Luke 5:16, etc.) after constantly caring for others. It wasn’t that he didn’t love them or that he didn’t enjoy his ministry, he just needed to recharge.
Gratitude gets a lot of attention in November and December. Between Thanksgiving which for many is a time of giving thanks and the quickly approaching Christmas which can bring out greed in the sweetest child, many parents struggle how to raise children who are truly grateful all year.
If your child has entered the school years, you are probably well aware how much attention teachers give to reading and reading comprehension. Your family has probably been encouraged to listen to your child read, ask questions and probably even enrolled your child in some sort of reading incentive program to encourage your child to practice reading on a regular basis.
Someone has taken the concept of idle hands being the devil’s workshop and decided children and teens should not have a spare moment of unscheduled time. Schools are pressured to give lots of homework and keep kids at the building for as many hours as possible. Extra curricular activities often demand young people practice or perform six to seven days a week – all year. We run our kids from activity to activity, coming home in time for them to do homework and get inadequate amounts of sleep. If our kids do have a rare free moment, all they have the energy to do is zone out in front of a screen – watching videos or playing games.
I’m declaring November the “Month of Gratitude”. Granted I don’t think I actually have the power to make it official, but I encourage you and your family to join me. The Bible is full of verses like this one in Psalms “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1) I’m sure you have taught your kids to thank God when they pray, but have you ever encouraged your children to fully embrace the idea of a grateful heart?