It was one of those really bad parenting weeks for me.

You know the ones I'm talking about. When our patience runs thin, our tone of voice loses it's softness, and we react with emotion rather than with grace and intention, and it's literally all we can do to just get through the day and make it to bedtime.

And yet, just when we finally get that moment of peace, silence and solitude, it's loudly interrupted by the overwhelming emotions of mommy guilt and shame. And every memory of every mistake we've made throughout the day haunts our hearts and minds, and we're certain we've ruined our children forever.

{I keep using the term "we"...I think because it makes me feel better to assume I'm not alone in weeks like this....ha!}

In the midst of this particularly tough parenting week, I found myself writing out my heart in the pages of my journal, which often times ends up being a lengthy heartfelt prayer to the Lord. And there I was, confessing my sins and selfishness before Him, asking for mercy and compassion, and hoping with all hope that despite my shameful behavior that week, He would still see my honest hearts desire was to be something completely different. And that, in his grace and mercy, perhaps he could keep my children from hating me and being screwed up all due to my numerous parental mistakes over the years. And...amen.

Just a couple nights later, as we were going over our foster care questionnaires with the kids, Taylor, my 9 year old son, out of the blue asked if we could maybe foster or adopt someone with a different color skin.

"Because, ya know, I just want them to understand that it doesn't really matter what color we are on the outside, it's really just about our hearts and how we are on the inside."

Then he added... "But let's just see if we can only get someone who has been teased a lot about it, so we can show them that not everybody is like that, ya know?"

And when I asked him if he wanted a boy or a girl, he responded, "It doesn't really matter, it's really just whatever God wants for us." Then when I asked him what foster care would mean to our family, he very matter of factly stated, "It means we will have to work really hard to teach them about the Lord."

As you can imagine, I was just about near a puddle of tears right there on the floor beside him.

You see, this child saying these wise things, tends to be what many would consider my Strong Willed one, or better put, the Child With Strong Leadership Skills. He's the one that I'm pretty sure grows my gray hairs and deepens my premature fine lines and wrinkles. And yet, just when I think I have no idea what I'm doing or wonder how I can possibly mold and shape the children God has given me, this child busts out with a whole bunch of stuff Jesus would say and do.

And I am so completely humbled.

My goodness, doesn't it seem as though the ones we love the most humble us the most?

I mean, how on earth with all the parental messing up I have done, could my children have ended up with hearts like that?

And it was in this treasured moment, that I knew the Lord was showing me just how much He truly does work in spite of us. And those moments where we mess up and we don't seem to be measuring up to the parental standards we may have set for ourselves, God steps in and with all his love and mercy and grace, He fills in the cracks. He takes the brokenness and makes it whole again. And His ways, His works, His miracles are so much more powerful and life changing than our attempts at perfect parenting will ever be.

And so, we have to keep that truth close to our hearts always, especially because I get just how hard we can be on ourselves when it comes to the area of raising these sweet (most of the time) little souls.

And that truth is: Our God is sovereign, and his grace and mercy never fail.

"We try, We fail. We trust, He succeeds." -Corrie Ten Boom

Blessings,

Summer Saldana SummerSaldana.com