Vulnerability and confessions.

In light of my post a couple of days ago about my daughter and the doctors appt today, it has sparked a few conversations with friends. Each talk this week and all of them in the past, after a melt down, share a common thread of confessions, sadness, and hope. I have yet to talk to a mother who has not felt madness at a child, hopelessness for how to help, and shame on how they responded. I have learned that because we are all human we all make mistakes, we all respond in ways that is less than stellar, and we all want to pull the "do over" card a few times. I have learned that we all feel alone and we feel like we are the only ones who can act like a total jerk to the ones we love. 

As parents we have this standard that can be impossible to get up to and for most of us, not reaching that idea of the perfect parent, can make us feel like failures. We carry shame with us and shame can cause silence. We don't speak for fear of what others will think. We don't share our challenges because no one will understand. 

This is a lie. 

This is not the truth. 

Talking to others can bring healing, it brings hope, suggestions, answers, and peace. 

I am grateful and so thankful that we are not alone. I am thankful for friends that love me through my confessions of bitterness and pain. I am thankful that when I am open about my trials it allows others to be open. Shame is broken when we speak. Forgiveness happens when we talk. Hope starts when we share. For this I am thankful.