Lessons From the Check-Out

I was THAT mother today. You've seen her before--the one who's desperately trying to decide whether she actually needs those discounted bowls (she didn't), while also attempting to keep 3 children from biting each other's heads off with their words, and all the while, a 4th child is in the grocery cart, wailing at the top of her lungs. She makes a good effort to avoid the annoyed, or occasionally sympathetic, gazes of the others in the check-out line, slams the groceries onto the belt as fast as humanly possible, then makes a beeline for the parking lot the second the card is authorized. I've seen her, too. I've been the onlooker thinking, "Can't that poor woman keep those kids in line?!" Well, today I WAS her.

But I need those kind of shopping days to help keep my pride in check. I need to remember that we all fail as parents at times, that we're all weak, that we all need a Saviour, that there is nothing in myself or my kids that I can rely on--I must depend solely on the grace of God.

This was SO not today!

These words from Elyse Fitzpatrick are so encouraging to me:

"The weaknesses, failures, and sins of our family are the places where we learn that we need grace too. It is there, in those dark mercies, that God teaches us to be humbly dependent. It is there that he draws near to us and sweetly reveals his grace... It is a kindness when he strips us of self-reliance, because it is there, in our emptiness and brokenness, that we experience the privilege of his sustaining grace. It is only when we arrive at that dreaded place of weakness that we discover the surpassing power of Christ. It is only when we are finally freed from those oh-so-constricting straightjackets of self-righteousness that we are able to experience the true comfort and warmth of the robes of his righteousness." (Give Them Grace)

So the next time I'm behind that mother in the grocery store, I want to be patient and remember that I fail, too. I want to give her an encouraging word, rather than an irritated glare. And the next time I AM her, I want to rejoice that I've been counted righteous in Christ, despite my inability to keep the kids in check. He alone is strong, He alone never fails, He alone is always faithful, and His grace is with me in my weakness.