Confessions of a Prideful Mom

As I spent time reflecting on Mother's Day, I was convicted of my own "motherly" pride. It subtly began when my daughter was born. She was so innocent, beautiful, and helpless. In my heart, I promised to do everything I could to protect her, keep her from hurting,  and be a great mom to her. I did well. She cried; I soothed her. She fell and got hurt; I healed her with a kiss and a band-aid. As she grew her friends broke her heart; so I spoke words of wisdom and comfort. She failed; so I picked up the pieces. On and on it went until I honestly thought it was my place to fix everything for not just her, but for everyone. It was my identity. I was so good at it that I could have warn an outfit just like Superman by simply replacing the 'S' with an 'F".  It was who I became… The Fixer. The problem was, more often than not, I used my own wisdom and my own ideas to solve the problems. I often forgot to include God in the equation. Thus, I was living a life of pride, and sadly I didn't even know it. Proverbs 6:16 says,
     "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes…" 
The very first thing listed, the number one thing God hates is pride. Pride makes us self-reliant. It cuts God out of our lives because we depend on ourselves to make the right decisions, to have the right words, and handle everything that comes our way independent of God. Moms are wired to have compassion, to see needs, and lead our children and families to healing. But beware, the healing isn't our job! Taking matters into our own hands is dangerous business. It can cause a child to be misguided, miss blessings, and miss the suffering of necessary pains. Yes, I said it can cause a child to miss suffering. I've realized that rescuing our children isn't love. God is love. It's his very nature. He can at anytime eliminate our suffering, but he doesn't. He waits because love is patient and in the wait, he allows us to become matured. Our suffering brings about godly characteristics if we are guided in the process by a loving, godly confident mom!

Lord,
Today I confess my pride as a mom. Forgive me for interfering with the work you long to do in my children. Teach me to be a mom who prays before acting. God make me a mom who hurts with my children, but allows the hurt to mature them rather than be a mom who shields them from the pains of this life. Thank you for the blessing of children!
Amen