Mercy After Meltdowns - The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional

Mercy after Meltdowns

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

1 John 1:9

It was a mama meltdown, an epic freak-out of gargantuan proportions. As if from a distance, I could hear myself shouting at my children to “Stop! Just stop!” But instead of stopping, my two-year-old continued screaming and my four-year-old looked at me with desolation in her eyes and burst into tears, and I couldn’t help but follow suit. As I stopped the car on the side of the road, I soothingly told them, “Mommy was just frustrated and didn’t mean to make you sad. Everything is okay.” Yet inside, a little voice whispered to me, Surely no “good” parent has days like this.

The next day, as I was enjoying the rare pleasure of midday coffee with a friend, the topic arose—how hard it is to have our children inside all day during the unforgiving winter. Listening to her, I heard my own thoughts echoed: “I just get to the point where I don’t even like myself and the way that I’m acting.” I grabbed my coffee from the table, gulping down tears and the overwhelming feeling that I was doing everything wrong.

I think as parents we need to manage our expectations. As a child, I thought my parents were invincible. Part of growing up meant realizing that parents are people, too. We don’t always know what to do. We feel hurt and lonely and scared, but we hide it so our children feel safe and loved.

As parents, we lavish our children with generosity. Yet we are inherently stingy with ourselves, forgetting that grace isn’t available just on Sundays. Are you kind to yourself when you make mistakes, or do you berate yourself unendingly? Whether you’re a parent or not, forgiving yourself just as God forgives you and resolving to do better tomorrow is one of the greatest kindnesses you can show yourself.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Thank God for the mercy and forgiveness he extends to us, then forgive yourself for an action you did, an attitude you had, or words you said.