I Am Not a Perfect Mother

(30 seconds) When one kid gets hurt and the others run for ice packs, water, bandaids, and adult help, I think, they’re listening. But they’re not listening to me, mamas.

Author

Emily Ross
October 16, 2025

John 14:15-21

15 If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

I am not a perfect mother. My kids have gone to the principal’s office for saying a bad word or lying. I’ve watched in horror as one sister purposefully kicked the other in the shins or desecrated a hard-worked craft in revenge. But every so often, they do something heartfelt, and I think, they’re listening.

When one gets hurt and the others run for ice packs, water, bandaids, and adult help, I think, they’re listening.

When one loses a favorite toy and the others try to find it, replace it, or just offer a hug, I think, they’re listening.

They’re not listening to me, mamas.

They’re listening in the moments when Christ shines through me, the kindness of their teachers and the songs at church. Through the prayers we whisper at bedtime and the quiet ways God’s grace shows up in our lives.

Too many times I let myself believe my kids’ faith depended on my perfection; that I had to model it all just right. But they don’t need a perfect mom. They just need a mom who’s listening to the One who is.

Emily

Have more time? Read more about the Holy Spirit in us in John 14:5-21.