Well, that's a comfort in the midst of my own self-doubt.
Then, I had to wonder, who gets to decide what makes a mom a good one?
Is it my 8-year-old self when I knew my own mom was good when she selflessly shared the middle (read: crust-less, read: best) part of her sandwich?
Is it the guy at the at&t store that thanked me for being a good mom while I half-managed my kids while he set up my Mother's Day gift?
Is it the ranting from other moms on "mommy support groups" about how terrible a mom at the grocery store or on the playground was for how they managed (or didn't manage) their kids?
Who gets to decide? Because all of the conflicting messages do not make my mommying any easier, and they are in no way comforting.
And, then, maybe that's it. Maybe it's that comfort I shared about the beginning of the month. Maybe sometimes from us to our children, but mostly from God to us. The encouragement and support. The provisions to help a helpless being grow into an independent (or appropriately dependent) one.
On our behalf, it's not preceded by impossible statements like "always" and "never." It's accompanied by the comfort of God's grace. That He'll pick up our slack and make our sometimes selfish, sometimes overwhelmed, sometimes bad efforts in parenting, good enough.
I am thankful I can point my kids to someone that comforts (and parents) better than me. The true definition of good. And that's a real comfort for this tired momma.
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Linking up for 5-minute-Friday with Lisa Jo on the word "comfort." This is also part of the encouragement I'm sharing this month for simplicity, simplified. See full list of posts here, and join me in not over-thinking it.
