“I begin with a short anecdote which illustrates a point I should like to make.
A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.
‘That laundry’s not clean!’ Lisa exclaimed. ‘Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!’
John looked on but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.
A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, ‘Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.’
John replied, ‘Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!’” – Story from a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson.
Mommas, in this world of comparison, and mom guilt, and feelings of never being enough, and ESPECIALLY in all things 2020, WE MUST give each other more grace.
If you hear a momma losing it at her kids in the grocery store? Smile at her. Let her know she’s not alone. Let her know you’ve had hard mom days too. Offer to help if it feels appropriate. And give her the benefit of the doubt. It’s probably NOT her norm to scream at her children in public.
Maybe she just found out her husband is leaving her.
Maybe she just learned that her mother has cancer.
Maybe she’s swimming in debt.
Maybe she’s struggling with feelings of depression.
Maybe her sister was just killed in a car accident.
One of my favorite hymns has this line, “Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly?”
Just like the woman taken in adultery, we CANNOT cast stones at each other, because we too have flaws. And faults.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
We do not need to point out each other’s flaws.
We DO need to give each other more grace.
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others. For beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness. And for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” – Audrey Hepburn
I always strive to live by the principle of Thumper in reverse: “If you DO have something nice to say, make sure you say it!”
Let’s give each other grace mommas. Let’s link arms, and lift each other up. We are better together.
