Gee, Thanks Mom

 I was standing at one of my regular posts, the washing machine, when I felt someone walk up behind me. As I turned around, I saw tears in my daughter’s eyes. She whispered that she had left her toothpaste at her friend’s house after their sleep-over.  As I looked at her flush little face, my heart felt for her.

Why would she cry over toothpaste? Well, for one thing she was very tired. Like many of us, when she is tired, she gets emotional.  But the other reason is that she is often forgetting things. It is a regular occurrence, a constant infraction, and often her excuse for, well, just about anything.  She thought she would be in trouble. As I looked at her, I saw myself. To this day, I am forever forgetting things. It’s a running joke when we gather at my mom’s house that when I leave, I will forget something: sunglasses, my watch, food, etc.… My husband and my friends at work know I forget my phone on a consistent basis.

It is so frustrating to me. I try; I really do, but remembering things is not one of my strengths.  While I want my children to excel and overcome their weaknesses, I am reminded that some of those weaknesses came directly from me. Bummer. Why couldn’t they have inherited all my strengths and all my husband’s strengths and none of our weaknesses?!  am reminded that I too, am intrinsically flawed.  Yet God shows me grace. Grace upon grace. My children deserve the same from me.

I find myself pushing them sometimes to overcome these inherited (or possibly, inadvertently learned from watching me?...ugh), undesirable tendencies because I don’t want them to struggle with them all their lives: forgetfulness, procrastination, impatience. Oh and the occasional emotional melt-down when tired, that’s from me too. But I realize there is a difference between pushing and nagging and actually helping and encouraging. When I show grace, I can encourage, but without grace, I may make my children feel like they are not good enough, like their weaknesses define them. That is NOT what I want. 

I wrapped my arms around my sweet girl and told her it was OK. Mommy forgets things a lot too and she was welcome to use my toothpaste. The next day her friend came to play and brought her little travel bag back. When I saw it on the table, all I could do was laugh.  For in it, was not only her toothpaste, but also her shampoo, conditioner, tangle spray and brush! 

“Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all my sins.”

 (And it is greater than our weaknesses too)