Show mercy to other mammas
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If there is one thing us mammas are really good at it is looking at another mummy and secretly picking apart her mothering. Please tell me this is not just me…
We watch how she deals with a screaming or moaning child and think we have her pegged. We make judgements on how her children look, if they are good at sharing, if they are too noisy, or too quiet. We watch her while she struggles with the pressure of mothering in front of people, and often think that we know best.
Matthew 7 v 1-3 says “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eyewhen you have a log in your own?
This is bad news for us, because even though we often don’t see it, we slip up in exactly the same ways she does. If we are judging her for the way she deals with a moaning child, we better make sure that we always, 100% of the time, deal absolutely perfectly with our children when they moan because “the standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”.
I was studying Romans 12 v 8 recently and this phrase jumped out at me; “if (your gift) is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” This phrase got me thinking that we are called to do more then just show mercy, we are asked to do it cheerfully! I find that, sometimes, I can just about show mercy to other mothers but it is not always cheerfully if I am honest!
Even if I somehow manage to hold my tongue when with another mother while her child is stealing a toy that my baby was happily playing with, inside I am most likely upset. However, we must remember that Jesus looks to the heart. If our behaviour doesn’t show our judgment of other mums but our hearts are twisted up with criticism towards them then we are not loving them well. We have to get down off of our high horses and remember that none of us parent perfectly!!!
So when you next find yourself not giving grace to another mamma, take a moment to pray for her. Not in a judgey “God, help her to be more like me” way, but in a “God, I feel her pain and frustrations, please help her” kind of way.
Take time to sort your own heart out instead of watching her. Get your heart into a place where you can cheerfully give her the mercy she needs.
Lets be kind to each other mammas, we are all on this crazy, busy, overwhelming journey of mothering together. We all know that there are a million decisions you must make every day and that yes, we all get some of those choices wrong! So, lets remember that we are all daughters of God, and lets show mercy and love to each other and not secretly tear each other down!
As always, I am praying for you all. I am praying that you would be blessed by this message and that your heart would be softened next time you are watching other mothers around you.