“I’m never going to be the mom that lets my kids run around with messy faces.” — Me, before having kids.
I was a really good parent before I gave birth!
Come to my home now at any time of day and you’ll see dried mac and cheese, cracker crumbs, yogurt or any other assortment of foods hidden somewhere on my kids’ faces.
Now don’t get me wrong, I still want my kids to have clean faces.
I’ve just changed my expectations of what “clean faces” looks like.
It doesn’t look like constantly clean faces.
Instead, it looks like constantly washing dirty faces.
“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (D&C 133:5)
Being clean before the Lord seems like an impossibly high standard.
Because I’m getting “dirt” on me all the time.
A little splash here.
A little fleck there.
Staying clean constantly isn’t what I’m shooting for.
Instead, I’m deciding to never give up on washing the spots off.
I’m scrubbing here and wiping off there.
I’m taking full showers whenever I need.
That’s what real repentance and change look like!
Not staying spotless, but committing to becoming spotless as soon as we realize we’ve gotten a bit dirty.
“Repentance is not an event; it is a process.” – Russell M. Nelson
My kids vary greatly in how clean they are each day.
But I’m never going to give up on helping them get clean once again.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
