‎"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be

and you help them to become what they are capable of being"

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It's hard not to shame my children when they repetitively make the same mistakes over and over. Just.  Being.  Honest.   I'm especially prone to shaming my eldest when he pulls the same behaviors we worked on when he was three.  At 8 he should be able to control himself from interrupting adults, hitting a younger brother who does something wrong to him, and forgetting his please and thank yous.  But he is still a work in progress... and so am I.

I'm reminded often that God isn't finished with me yet either, but that He who began I good work in me (and each of my boys, and my husband...) will be faithful to complete it. Such knowledge brings hope to long mothering days.

But the other part of the "persevering in love" equation is forgiveness.  If I come before the Lord thankful each day for the grace and not the shame, for the forgiveness and not the blame that I have abundantly received, then such forgiveness and grace will flow out of my own shameless life.

So I'm stopping right now, at 1:49pm on this Wedenesday afternoon to remember again what is true and noble and lovely.  Think about such things.

...Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 

(Philippians 1:6)

I quoted Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in my last post too.  Totally by accident.  Now I will have to search on purpose for more gems from the man.