It was my great plan that fizzled out. With one summer left to spend before my sweet girl left home, I chose a book about prayer for the two of us to read together. I would make a deposit in her heart that would bring a return long after she carried her crates to the dorm. But then we went on vacation, she got a job, and I got busy, and somehow, before I knew it, we had to take those crates for college. My good intentions failed, and I was left with a barely read book on prayer.
Maybe you always complete your great mothering intentions, but I don’t. Sometimes I need understanding and grace for unfinished plans. I need grace for when I attempt “great” but fizzle out, feeling like a mom who just didn’t try hard enough. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father gives understanding and grace in abundance. It’s there for any well-intentioned mom who fizzles out now and then.
How to get understanding & grace
Ask the Father to show you the truth about your attempts and plans. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” (Psalm 139:23). He planted the noble mom thoughts in your heart, and they were good. He gave them to you, all the while knowing you are human and have limitations. What seems like failure may help you understand your weaknesses, to grow as you consider time, priorities, and decisions. He will use this to lead you on your motherhood journey. God knew all this, and still He entrusted great plans in your mama heart and will give you understanding.
Focus on the seeds God allowed you to sow. He who began a good work in you and in your children will bring His plan to completion (Phil. 1:6), using the deposits you made into your loved one’s life. The intentions were never our original ideas to begin with, but good steps on the path of God’s plan. Know that He will take every seed you plant into your child’s heart and cause it to grow. As we plant His truth into the little ones we nurture, He assures us, “it (His truth) shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11b). He will use our well-aimed attempts to accomplish His plans in the lives of our kids. He gives such grace for moms.
We moms will continue to give our all to point our kids to Jesus as they grow up in homes we build God’s way. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father gives understanding and grace in abundance for when our best intentions fizzle out. That encourages me, because this might not be the last time I don’t follow through on great mom plans on my motherhood journey. And I’m keeping our book on prayer … maybe next summer?
So is it just me, or do you ever fizzle out on your great intentions? Share in the comments, and we would love to hear what encourages YOU when you feel like you fail.
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