I suppose all moms and dads feel their failures immensely but we are who we are and our children are shaped through that and because of that, not in spite of it. After all, if God had meant for us all to have perfect parents, he would have done the job himself, he certainly didn't "need" help from us. He just needed the vehicle of "family life" for us each to develop a better character from.
My favorite scripture (I hope I can say this when I stand before God):
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7
There are countless times I have thought I just can't keep going. Life is hard and some days it is absolutely unbearable for a thousand different reasons. I'm sure everyone has days like that too. More than one. But I know the Lord guides each of us to the places and people and situations that will mold and shape us into the person he needs us to be. We are gifts from God, with all our shortcomings, failures and struggles. We are the only one who can do what he needs us to do on this earth. If we search for our purpose here we will find peace with all the hardships we will face in life.
One of my favorite all time scripture stories is in Matthew 14, when Peter, a disciple of Christ walks on water, or at least tries to. Many people preach that this shows Peter's failure to believe in the Lord's powers. But to me it teaches exactly how we should believe in his powers. The disciples are in a boat with the wind and waves at their backs. Jesus comes to them walking on the water. All of them are surprised and question what they see...but only Peter has the courage to ask Jesus if he can come to him. Only Peter has the nerve to get out of the boat into the treacherous sea believing that Christ will be there for him.
And the ultimate lesson...Peter gets scared, starts to fall and asks Jesus to save him. Of course, Jesus saves him and tells him, he didn't need to doubt. If every endeavor, dream, fear that we have could be faced with that kind of courage, what could we accomplish? It's OK to be scared, we are asked to do some scary stuff...Peter is my inspiration. Courage isn't the absence of fear, it is facing our fear square in the face and just going for it. I pray that I will have the faith and courage of Peter.
