Confessions of an Unintentional Mom

It’s a bit ironic that I chose to talk about intentional mothering for 31 days. Because truth be told, sometimes I’m the most unintentional mother you’ll ever meet.

I think it’s important that you understand that … that you realize I’m far from perfect, and I certainly don’t have this intentional mothering thing figured out. I’m navigating these waters one day at a time, just like you, staying afloat only because His grace is sufficient and His mercies are new each day.

On one hand, that means I’m coming to this space with a bit of fear and trembling, acknowledging that I’m ill-equipped to speak with you about this topic. But on the other hand, it also means I’m coming to this space empty, waiting for The Lord to fill me up. That’s a great place to be … waiting with an open heart to hear what The Lord is going to teach us regarding these matters!

So with that in mind, today I’m sharing a few of my own confessions of an unintentional mom. Because when we’re honest about our own shortcomings, when we take our masks off and embrace authenticity, we invite others to do the same. And if we’re going to walk this month-long journey together, we’re going to need a lot of authenticity and a heaping dose of grace!

Additionally, (as you’ll see tomorrow) I believe recognizing our own brokenness is an essential part of intentional mothering. Why? Because we can only parent with intentionality when we first understand that we can’t do it by our own sheer will. We can’t resolve to be an intentional mom and then succeed at that task if we’re trying to achieve it by our own power. We need HIS power to do that, and it’s only when we look at our own flaws and failures that we realize just how badly we need Him to step into the middle of our mothering. After all, we can only extend grace, compassion, mercy and forgiveness to our own kids if we’ve experienced it ourselves first.

I know that to be true, because I’m so often in need of it myself. I write to encourage fellow moms, but I frequently find myself discouraged in this role. I have a short fuse, and I yell at my kids … sometimes for insignificant things. I’m impatient to their requests. I dole out justice when I’d rather give mercy; I get frustrated with their little messes and noisy play. I compare myself to other moms, inadvertently basing my “success” or my “failure” on my perceptions of others. I can be unstructured to a fault during our days and then suffer immense guilt over that very fact, believing that I should have done more, been more, taught more.

It’s for these reasons and more (so many more) that I am ill-equipped to talk about this subject, but it’s for these same reasons and more that I’m excited to hear what The Lord may say on this topic. Because this is going to be less about me and more about Him. 

I’m so glad you’re joining me for this journey! I pray that authenticity and grace will cover this conversation and the entirety of this month. Tomorrow we’ll answer the question that asks: What is intentional mothering? And then we’ll unpack that answer some more in the days that follow. I’m excited to explore it all with you, but until then, what about you? Where do you feel you fall short? What are your own confessions of an unintentional mom?

To read Day 1 in this 31 Days of Intentional Mothering Series, click here. 

/ / /

Like what you see here? Then you’ll love my first-ever children’s book, Bruce the Brave. Now available on Amazon! 

For more content like this, connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! To receive more encouraging posts AND get a free printable, enter your e mail in the box to the sidebar at the right. Then just click “I want to Follow F&C!” Be sure to check your inbox for the confirmation and the link to your free printable. You can also follow F&C on BlogLovin’. 

All content is ©Faith&Composition by Shalene Roberts, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. If you like F&C content, I’d be tickled pink if you would share. Just please include a link to the original post. Thank you!