What God Says About Parent Guilt

I just found out that all the scrimping and saving we did to put our kids in braces gave them the gift of receding gums now.  I want to be the best parent and grandparent I can be, but at the end of the day – there are just things I don’t do that I should or things I do wrong.  It’s easy to feel like judge and jury all at the same time as I put myself on trial in my thoughts.

What relief that Jesus doesn’t play that game. He has justified me. I love that word justified. It sounds like justice, and it is. It means Jesus has declared me innocent in God’s courtroom. I am never going to be the best I can be because I fail at keeping all of God’s laws. Oh, I might look good on the outside. You might think: “Man, what a weird cool type church lady this one is”. But just crawl into my thoughts and you will know that certainly isn’t true. 

But I am rescued. I really am innocent in God’s eyes because my Jesus and your Jesus took the punishment for our sin when he died and suffered hell for us. We live in his victory over death. I don’t have to be paralyzed in my own guilt-focused party every day. I am declared innocent by Jesus on the cross. My kids are. The orthodontist who messed up their gums is. My granddaughters are. Even my amazing hubster is.

A Daily Prayer
Dear Jesus, your gift of faith in you is so precious. Thank you for obliterating my guilt on the cross. Give families real relief in your forgiveness today. Amen.