My young teenage daughter came in the side yard door, finished and tired from rust-proofing the swing supports. I heard the crash down the basement stairs. I saw the brown paint splashed over the recently painted white cement wall. Then, my scolding onslaught began.
Did I see her shocked face, sense her apprehension, or even consider her well-being? Later, I added this shameful response to my already full Regret Bucket.
Instead of being the adult, the caring parent concerned for her, I was the immature one.
I thought I failed, but now I understand I only fell.
As parents, we look back and see our mistakes. We wish for do-overs, memories we would rather toss into the deep recesses of our minds, never to relive again. The failures stack up and add up, becoming burdens that could overwhelm us, but for the grace of God.
Whether your fall is recent or one that you have carried for years, as I did, you have Jesus’ permission to hand it over to Him.
When we said “yes” to Jesus, He was aware of our frailty (Psalm 103:14). He knew we would stumble badly, even smear His name by our witness, yet He consistently, faithfully, pulls us out of the pit and sets our feet on solid ground (Psalm 40:2). He reassures us, “Come Beloved, you can do this with me - you are not alone - I will be with you to steer and strengthen your faith walk” (Matthew 28:20).
We may fall in our faith, yet, because of the faithfulness of Jesus, falling is not failure nor final.
The Bible recounts many who thought they failed, only to realize that God forgave and redeemed their sin and shortcomings.
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, King David, Peter, Martha, and Mary, and even the very religious Saul (now Paul) - all fell short of trusting God in the big and small circumstances of life.
With Jesus, we always, always, get a do-over.
A hopeful scripture to remember is Isaiah 3:20-21, “The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him. And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’”
The falls of life are indicators of an area in our life that may need refining and strengthening.
Instead of carrying the burden of my shortcomings that day, a better response would have been to analyze it. Did I say “Yes” to too much? Did I allow other areas in my life (dating, social life, spending, and work) to become more important than my family life? Have I let my own shame and guilt spill over to my family? Is there an area that God needs to heal in my heart?
These “falls” open our eyes to the need for maturing our faith. When our children see that we seek God and His wisdom to learn from our shortcomings, they will be encouraged to do the same.
When you fall short in your faith walk, you have not failed. You have only fallen and have the loving "right hand" of God to uphold you. (Psalm 63:8)
Perfection is not possible in this life, only faithfulness to the process of sanctification – keeping on keeping on. We must remember that we are modeling to our children what it means to follow Jesus day by day. The call to be students of the Teacher is a greater call than focusing on the falls of the day.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Stacey Jeannett is the founder and director of Single Parent Focus, dedicated to walking and encouraging single parents to “seek God first” in all areas of their lives. Stacey holds a Master’s in Counseling and is a Life Coach through her ministry, Single Parent Focus.
A single parent for most of her daughter’s life and making plenty of mistakes, Stacey cried out to God and He pulled her from the pit of self-sufficiency. Remarried, she now has a blended family of four, along with two son-in-laws, and three adorable grandchildren that call her GG.
WHO WE ARE
The Life of a Single Mom is a national, faith-based, nonprofit that exists to see that no single mom walks alone. To date, the organization has worked with thousands of churches to start a single mom’s support group in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as having served more than one million single mothers with a variety of programs. Offering a large array of books, curriculum, training materials, online instructional videos, podcasts, newsletters, life skills education, and more, TLSM is one of the largest single mom organizations in the U.S. The robust selection of single mom programs focus on empowering single moms to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially, and parentally through Single Mom University®, Single Moms Across America, the National TLSM Single Moms Conference, boot camps, and a variety of other programs. For more information, visit thelifeofasinglemom.com.
