“If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 15:26 

As your children grow, it is normal to wonder if you will end up parenting them like you were parented. You may have had the most wonderful childhood with a gold-standard mom. Or perhaps you feel that your mother was terrible. Your mom was probably somewhere in between, doing some things well and some things poorly. In any case, how will your experiences play into how you raise your own children? Does this incite fear or give hope? 

Whatever your desires are as a mother, the Lord can help you. You will make mistakes, but it’s not predetermined that you will make the same mistakes your own parents made. You will do many things right and well. And like a rancher riding fences looking for weak areas, God, the Great Healer, will be mending your brokenness along the way. His love covers a multitude of shortcomings (1 Peter 4:8). 

Even as they wandered in the desert, the Lord met the Israelites where they were. When their drinking water was bitter, he showed Moses how to sweeten it. When they were hungry, he provided miraculous food. And as they traveled, they learned about his character and their own. They had a lot of healing to do after 400 years of slavery, and it took time. But the Lord was faithful all the way up and into the Promised Land. Like he was with the Israelites, the Lord will never leave you. When you encounter bitterness in parenting, he will have an answer. You are helping to shape faithful and loving hearts for the future, and he will not let you fail. 

God cares about your heart and whatever healing it needs. As you trust him with your broken areas, he will lead you into health. 

 

This month, we are sharing devotions – like this one – from the Daily Devotional Bible for Moms! Pick up your copy today at dayspring.com.