We hear it all the time. “Be Ye Therefore Perfect, Even as I Am.” But, we also hear just as much that we are not expected to be perfect in this life. It is a goal. To set our sights on the Perfect Example, and follow Jesus Christ. Doing our best to be just like Him, yet humble enough to accept His grace and know that it is only through Him that we can return and live with God again.
The other day, I was having a particularly rough morning. I don’t even remember now what was going on. Typical motherhood stuff. I remember feeling weighed down. Frustrated by my own actions and weaknesses. I remember feeling like, once again, I had failed at trying to be the mother I want to be. And, a simple thought popped into my head. I would not say it was a voice, but rather a thought that instantly opened my eyes. The thought was, “The atonement applies to motherhood too.”
As a member of the church, I have come to understand that I will never be perfect in this life. However, it is easy to beat ourselves up over our weaknesses. Motherhood just exacerbates this problem, doesn’t it? I can’t tell you how many times I have put the pressure on myself to be the perfect Mom only to feel disappointed at the end of the day. And, yet, I had never considered that the atonement applies to my job as a mother just as much as it applies to everything else.
For me, mama guilt comes naturally. I’ve blogged about it before. But, this realization that the atonement applies to motherhood has helped me tremendously in the past few days since I realized it. I can be at peace knowing that everyday I am trying my best, and at the end of the day, it is only through the grace of a loving Heavenly Father that my role as a mother is perfected. I cannot do it alone. It is impossible.
I may not ever perfect being patient in every circumstance.
I may not ever be able to stop yelling at my kids completely.
I may never be perfect at overcoming the countless weaknesses I have as both a human being and a mother.
But, Our Savior knows this. He sees that I am trying. He knows what is in my heart. And, each day, I can rely on the fact that He died for those weaknesses that I possess and that my job is to do the best I can every day. The desire to be the perfect mom is there. And, that is what He knows.