Episode 50: Mom Guilt (And Feelings of Failure)

Unexpected with Hannah Love

School is about to start back and I feel like the family schedule has gone from zero to a hundred in the last couple of weeks. The speed at which things are unfolding has me overwhelmed. And I can feel the pressure of the mom-guilt wrapping around me like a weighted blanket. I hate it. But I know I’m not the only one who feels this sometimes. There’s something about motherhood (or maybe just adulthood in general) that triggers us to feel responsible for the wellbeing of everyone all the time. It’s heightened when you have small children, too, because you literally are. Responsible. For their little lives and their wellbeing.

This is just an example, (But lets be honest, its the reason I sat down to even contemplate mom-guilt today, too). We have had everything from concussions to nightmares to meltdowns and illness, birthday parties, school functions, and a myriad of small mishaps…this week alone. Mix in a 6 month old, traveling husband, and a house full of high energy boys…y’all, I’m tired. And all I can do is dwell on the ways I’ve failed my family this week.

Have you ever felt this way? Exhausted. Full schedules. Loud houses. A million obligations and NO time or patience or energy to do any single ONE thing well. Like…not just a physical tired. It’s something deeper. This tired is more like a weariness of heart. And have you ever noticed that its usually when you feel this weariness that you feel MOST like a failure.. to your spouse. To your kids. To your friends and people who depend on you?

I’m imagining a few head nod’s from y’all as you review some of your own chaos haha. And I didn’t come here today to vent about my life and my moments of overwhelm… I really just came to acknowledge its something we all experience. AND I came to offer a little bit of encouragement in it.

As I sat in my overwhelm this morning, I started thinking about people in the Bible (namely women) who must have felt like failures at times. Do you know the first story that came to mind? Mary. The mother of Jesus.

Today, we read a story out of Luke and come away with a few takeaways having to do with guilt and failure…

The first: Nobody is exempt from mom-guilt and feelings of overwhelm. Frankly, I’m just glad mine aren’t documented in the Bible for all of time. But… I am, as always, thankful that God made sure to include these human moments to remind us of just that. We are only human. We will fail. We will mess up. We will make mistakes. And.. we will become weary. BUT. The Bible is also full of reminders that God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses. His grace is sufficient for us. Not in our own strength, but in His. He is there to pick us right back up when we fall. Holy Spirit is there to lead us into all truth. We are never alone.

The other observation I made is this: Moment’s of failure are opportunities for growth. Moment’s of weakness provide the beautiful gift of reflection and self-evaluation…

Today, I pray you’ll remember each of these things and be encouraged. God KNEW we would fail. He knew we would fail In moments of parenthood, in marriage, in friendships, in business and in relationships. But He also offered the solution when He sent His son into the world. His son, Jesus…who was by all accounts lost for a few days from his own mother… God didn’t let that little story be written into the Bible for no reason. There’s always a reason. A reminder. That God loved us so much, he made sure to include even the smallest dimensions of human life (like mom-guilt and feelings of failure) so that we may know we aren’t the only ones. We aren’t alone. And… most importantly, we are granted grace from it because of His love and the sacrifice of His precious son. I love y’all and I pray this reminder finds you when you need it…

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