Are you feeling guilt or shame today because you could not join in the fluffy feelings expected of you on Mother’s Day? Perhaps your mother was absent a lot of the time when you were growing up. Perhaps she was so wounded that she never really saw you and you felt abandoned or responsible. Perhaps she allowed you to be used or abused. Perhaps she was the abuser—physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Days set aside to honor mothers is a good thing. But what do we do when she was not honorable and those days dredge up painful memories rather than joy-filled ones. Sometimes Mother’s Day is hard.
In those early years when our immature minds measure good or bad, affirming or hurtful, safe or unsafe according to the natural self-focus of children, it can all get jumbled and internalized. Often, we misinterpret things and this misinterpretation becomes the lifetime basis for our thinking. It is what we believed, and we live life today based on what we believed as children. We call these lie-based beliefs.
When we allow God to offer His truth to replace our lie-based beliefs, we can experience life in new ways. With our freedom often comes a sense of compassion for those who hurt us. We may feel sadness and grief, but we can also turn loose of the guilt and shame that come with unforgiveness.
Warm, fluffy feelings? Maybe not. But at least there can be peace of mind and heart—and joy.
“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Blessings,
Annette
Want more on this topic? Get a copy of Built with Stones of Turquoise.
Looking with New Eyes 