If You Honor Yourself Than You Will be Better at Loving Your Kids

Open Letter to a mom I know who hates herself for being less than.

Dear Mom,

I know you grew up thinking you needed to do everything perfectly. The voice in your head says the goal of our lives is perfection if we settle for less we are giving up and must be lazy. I know you don’t think beating yourself up over every mistake or second-guessing every decision you make is hurting anyone but yourself, but it is. Giving in to these demons of self-hatred hurts your children every day. Practicing hate, even if it is in secret, inflicted only upon your own soul, will make you better at hate. Your kids need a mom who is better at love. They need you to practice love in secret, on yourself, because when you practice on yourself you will be better at love. You will know how to love them better.

Dear Mom,

Hating yourself for hating yourself is still practicing hate. Let it go. Forgive yourself. Have mercy on your own soul. Until you learn this you will not know how to really love those imperfect little minions all covered with raspberry jam.

It is okay to be a mess. It is okay to struggle with learning how to love, but you’ve got to do it, if not for yourself than for those little puffy cheeks that smile in-between sticky toddler kisses.

Dear Mom,

You can do this. You already are doing this. Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be forgiving with yourself. When you are tempted to hate yourself, turn towards gratitude instead. It feeds the soul and makes it hard to hold onto hate. If you don’t know what you are grateful for, start writing it down. Until it is lodged deeply in your heart and you feel constantly grateful. This will help kill those self-hate demons because a heart filled with gratitude just doesn’t have enough space for them.

You cannot teach your child that they are precious if they see you believe you are worthless.

Motivation Monday: 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement

Nicole @ Bless Their Hearts Mom
Patti @ Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy
Rebekah @ There Will Be a $5 Charge For Whining
Rodna @ Training Children up for Christ
Stacy @ A Homemakers Heart
Tess @ Circling Through This Life
Wendy @ Life at Rossmont
Yvie @ Gypsy Road