Comments on: Guilt

By: BridgetChumbley

BridgetChumbley — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:36:09 +0000

Thanks Jason! I pray for my kids constantly and I know the rest I have to leave up to God. (Sounds so much easier than it really is)!

By: jasonS

jasonS — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:08:22 +0000

Guilt is a big one, isn’t it? It’s always there. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. In everything, but with my kids especially, I have to continually remind myself that He is there when I’m not and loves them more than I ever can. I pray for them a lot, but I trust God to watch them and lead them.

Thanks for sharing your heart!

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:16:35 +0000

Bridget, guilt would be there no matter what. I know my mom feels guilty for being overprotective. I never broke my arm, got a black eye, etc, because she’d go into hysterics if I asked to climb a tree, try a skateboard, etc. She tried to put a sort of bubble around me, but it didn’t work. The world still got to me, but I didn’t know how to deal with it. No, I am not angry with her for it. She did her best. Her mistakes were made with love and the best of intentions.
And now that mom is in my care, I feel guilty every time she gets a rash or bladder infection. Maybe if I would have….

By: BridgetChumbley

BridgetChumbley — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:42:57 +0000

@Bradley It is a big/bad world out there and yes they do have to learn to survive. I just wish it didn’t hurt ‘me’ so much along the way!

@Candy Maybe the vitamins weren’t quite that size…but close!
Guilt is useless but can also be humbling and a learning experience (but I still hate it). lol

@Billy Thank goodness kids are so forgiving and accept us as we are. They are like God in that way and for that I am truly grateful!

@makeadiff Exactly…we can predict what ‘might’ happen all day long…and when something ‘does’ happen we blame ourselves..crazy how being parents brings this out in so many of us.

@Laurie If we didn’t have our heavenly Father to turn to I can’t imagine what a lonely and depressing life it would be…thanks for the note!

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 03:25:03 +0000

Wow Bridget way to take that gut wrenching emotion we all feel and make me cry as I am reading about it. It is so true that we carry around the what ifs and the why’s for all our lives but thank you for reminding us that in God we can find peace and rest.

By: makeadiff21

makeadiff21 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:07:56 +0000

I love this.

Isn’t it funny that guilt and fear seem to go hand-in-hand with being a parent? We fear that ‘something’ is going to happen, and then when it does–whether we had anything to do with it or not–we somehow manage to find a reason we should feel guilty about it.

Thank you!

By: Billy Coffey

Billy Coffey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:54:19 +0000

I thought I knew guilt before my kids were born, but that word takes on a whole new meaning when you have children. As hard as I try to be a good father, I go to bed every night with every failure still fresh in my mind.

But I think it’s in our very nature to let everyone down at some point. All the more reason to look to the One who will never let us down in return.

Great post, Bridget!

By: Candy

Candy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:37:53 +0000

Well said, Bridget. Guilt is such a useless, wasted emotion – that is, until it brings us to our knees in prayer. Everything we embrace about guilt is simply the sound of a bell that can’t be unrung. Motherhood is filled with wishes for do-overs, and they can ridiculously consume us. (Been there, still visit now and again). Thank goodness for God’s grace and mercy. Oh, and for friends with which we can share and confess those “respectable sins” (in the words of Jerry Bridges) of worry and guilt.

But vitamins the size of a house?? Whoa.

By: Bradley J. Moore

Bradley J. Moore — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:36:43 +0000

Bridget-
Seriously, I bet your kids won’t even remember, or be scarred, or definitely not hold it against you!! Life is full of risk, and accidents are part of that. We can’t keep our kids from getting hurt. Otherwise, they would never know how to go out into the world. But I totally understand the guilt. Sometimes hard to shake off. I feel guilty for things with my kids – and even if I can’t precisely define what it is, I know I should have/could have been a better father. Somehow.

Thanks for the final verse and reminder that nothing seperates us from God’s love. His grace covers us.