A few weekends ago, my husband was out of town and I was planning on conquering a thick six basketball game, two baseball practice, Sunday church, and one birthday party schedule over a quick forty-eight hours.
I wrote everything down… locations, times, jersey color (because of course there is more than one) and I was ready. (Hmm, maybe even pridefully so.) Except… as I was on my way to the first basketball game of the day in another town, I realized I had the time wrong. ONE HOUR wrong. So instead of showing up 15 minutes early to the game as a “proud, I have it all together, mom,” we would be showing up for the last 5 minutes of the game. This also meant my other son would not make it to baseball practice and no one would be eating lunch.
Somehow that little misstep in time made my mind steamroll. I started generalizing my entire parenting worth. I went from making a calendar mistake, to thinking I was a disaster of a mom who couldn’t pull it together; a mom who disappointed my kids, and a wife who would also disappoint my husband when my kids relayed the story. And somehow, I think I pulled in there my feelings on how I was overweight and needed to stop eating sugar because that was also making me a loser mom.
Phew. Can any of you mom’s relate to the “rabbit trail” thinking process?
Later in that messed up, yucky day, the words of my sweet friend came to mind. With wisdom, she had told me, “Satan loves to work in our confusion.”
It’s amazing how one bad day or even one lousy moment can put us into a state of confusion about our own worth. And when we are battling those thick thoughts, we tend not to acknowledge truth.
The truth. I wrote down the time of Grayson’s game wrong. The end. Humans make mistakes, and I am very human.
The truth. One mistake has nothing to do with what kind of mom I am or how I am as a wife. It also had nothing to do with whatever number I am on a scale or the fact I had a sugary Starbucks drink that day.
In the confusion of the moment, I started to generalize and go down a rabbit hole of lies. I let Satan win.
Moms, wives, friends… don’t slip into confusion because you generalize a moment.
We all make mistakes. The mistakes we make do not define us. So let’s put truth around them and call them out. Then let’s shout out what we know to be true and fight the battle of confusion over our true identities.
Write it down, say it out loud, forgive yourself, and move on to better moments. The Bible lays out great truths that can help when we start to spin in a downward thought process mentally. I have shared this list before, but it’s one I think about regularly, so I thought you might want to see it again too. 🙂
Don’t spiral in confusion. Rest in His truth. HLLF – Melissa
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I am a child of God. (Galatians 3:26)
I am unashamed. (Romans 8:1)
I am a masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am chosen. (Ephesians 1:4)
I am a child of God. (John 1:12-13)
I am joyful. (Galatians 5:22-23)
I am self-controlled. (Galatians 5:22-23)
I am known—even before I was born. (Jeremiah 1:5)
I am steady. (Psalm 91:1)
I am loved. (John 3:16)
I am free. (John 8:32)
I am healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
I am strong. (1 John 2:14)
I am fearless. (Isaiah 43:5)
I am secure. (John 10:28-29)
I am a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am not shaken. (Psalm 62:6)
I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37)
