My kid watches TV--which really I do try to limit and definitely monitor--while her kid does a language program on the computer. It's so easy to fall into a trap of comparing myself to others and feeling like I constantly come up short. Guess what? There's some reason God gave these kids to me and made me their mom, not anybody else.
I am trying by God's grace to be a good mother.
My kids don't need the pressure of being compared to others any more than I do. They need my encouragement in their strengths and weaknesses. They need me to be there for them, to have fun with them, to like them as people just the way they are right now. They need me to point to Christ, to the always faithful Shepherd.
Last night in kids' club, I took the group through John 10 and one thing we talked about was the identity of the hired man, the one who watches the flock for a while in place of the shepherd. I told them I'm the hired man, the one who wants them to see the Shepherd in me, but who can't be counted on not to run when the wolf comes. I'm not the one they should be looking to. I won't always make the right choices, won't always be a light. Bottom line, I'm going to mess up. Only Jesus is the perfect, always faithful Shepherd.
And guess what? What's true for those kids is true for me too! I need to keep my eyes on Him and trust His work in my life. It's time to quit comparing to the hired man, who no matter how fabulous, does have flaws just like I do! It's the Shepherd's example and help I need and He will lift me up as I humble myself before Him.