She’s an uninvited guest in our motherhood journey, but a stranger to none of us. Just when we think we might be figuring out our current stage of mom-ing and our confidence is growing, she shows up to remind us what areas we do not excel in.

We innocently scroll through social media and see the soccer mom whose kids are in all the sports and doing all the things, while you’ve dropped the ball to register your kids for anything at all. We see the mom that went all out for Valentine’s day, heart shaped pancakes with sprinkles and a perfectly curated tabletop. We see the homeschool mom that seems to be fully invested in her child’s development and enjoying the freedom that it entails; or in reverse, we see the mom with kids in full time school that has time to recharge and recover with adults and is able to show up and enjoy her more limited time with her kids without being totally burnt out on them.

Maybe comparison isn’t the thief of your joy, offering you guilt in replacement; maybe you’re in a season that is full of trials and the only thing you have to offer your kids is your bare minimum. You’re picking yourself up every day; emotionally, mentally, maybe even physically exhausted- and you’re fighting your battles while parenting in survival mode, and you’re worried how this brief season, thought it feels endless, will affect your children. Will they remember it? Do they feel it? Mom guilt.

There’s something about mom guilt that excites me, though.

Wait- what?

Yes, if you had to re-read that, I assure you, you read it right the first time. There’s something that excites me about mom guilt, and it’s this: it humbles me. It reminds me of my weaknesses. It reminds me that I am one person, and I am imperfect and am incapable of doing it all and of being every single type of amazing mom that there is.

It also reminds me that God meets me in my weaknesses and uses it as an opportunity to show His strength. He stands in the gap. Most importantly, the type of mother he gave my children is the type of mother He chose for them. I am a part of their story, faults and shortcomings and all. Does that mean that I don’t work toward improvement in the areas I fall short and should grow in parenting? Of course not. However, it does mean that my strengths are also a part of their story, and both my strengths and weakness are what will mold them into the adults they will one day be.

So here’s my encouragement: rejoice in your weaknesses. Cheer on the moms that do certain things better than you- be glad that her children are blessed by her strengths. Likewise, your children are blessed by yours. We may not excel at all the things, and there is always room for growth; but mom guilt is a pretty solid indicator that we care about our kids- a lot. That right there is why your kids are the luckiest kids around- they’re loved.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)