1 Story and 3 Bible Verses for the Mom Who Feels Like She’s Losing Her Mind (and Patience) With Her Kids

As we went through the checkout line, I told Connor, once again, to put his glasses on his face.  The cashier must have sensed the grit behind my request because she smiled and said, “You better do it, Sweetie, or else, your momma is gonna spank you right here.”  I could feel the eyes of the other customers all over me like daggers.  As I stood there, very pregnant with our fourth boy, all I could think about was their likely disapproval of my parenting.  I think there might now be a sign in the employee area with our picture and a warning beside it saying something like “Beware of This Looney Tunes Mother and Her Reckless Boys”.  Mother of the year right here!

I thanked the cashier, once again, for her help in finding the glasses, and I hightailed it out of that store.  I was so disappointed in Connor; no, I was flabbergasted and enraged at him.  More than anything, I was completely embarrassed of my own crazy behavior.  The last thing I wanted to do was go to our friend’s house.  As we walked to the car, Connor found a limb…yes a limb, on a median and proceeded to drag it through the parking lot, like a caveman, as if we were going to put it in the van.  I sharply said “Connor, THAT is a tree limb.  Put that back on the median and come to the car, NOW!”.  So, what did he decide to do?  Throw it, of course.  Yes, he decided to throw it back on the median; only, he didn’t think about how close it was to a CAR.  So, I start yelling,”No!” like a crazy person just as my sweet, mother-of-eight neighbor and her friends walked by.  She gave me the most genuine, nonjudgmental smile and said, “You need another set of hands!”, and I agreed.  I agreed that, especially at that moment, I needed another set of hands to get those out-of-control kiddos in my van as fast as possible and then into bed.  I was DONE!!

When we finally got into the van, all I could do was cry.  I couldn’t even speak.  I felt like such a failure as a mother AND as a Christian.  I allowed my anger to get out of control, and this wasn’t righteous anger by any means.  I totally lost my cool.  I didn’t exhibit patience or speak tenderly.  My eldest son, Cooper, noticed the disappointment all over my countenance and asked, “Mom, are you crying?”.  I didn’t want to answer him.  I just wanted to go home, put them to bed, and crawl into bed with my husband, but I couldn’t.  We had purposed to do something nice for our friend, and we had to follow through.  I had to put my feelings aside and focus on what was most important at that moment.  We did that very thing, and it meant a lot to the sweet little boy.  We were able to be a blessing even though our shopping experience was a complete and total bust.

As I have reflected more on this crazy Dollar Tree incident, I have learned a few things.

CLICK CONTINUE to read what I’ve learned and 3 Verses that have helped me as a mother.