Confessions for the Soul
By show of hands.....How many of us go around with a bad case of "the shoulds"?
The mental loop is tiring.
I should have done.....
I should be able to do....
I shouldn't have....
I should feel this way....
I should handle this....
My house should....my kids....my marriage....
SHOULD SHOULD SHOULD.
You should stop yourself!!
This list of shoulds is dangerous and it rolls around in our head and becomes a list of our shortcomings and turns into guilt, frustration, self loathing and anger.
Anyone raising their hand?!
Today that stops. We have to set down those shoulds and realize that WE ARE HUMAN!! Not perfect. Jesus was the perfect one. Not you. Real live people are supposed to have failures. If you try enough things- you are going to fail some of them. AND THAT IS OK!
There is a newer trend within truly honest communities to be transparent, vulnerable, share our failures, support one another and set down the judgement and appreciate the fact that life is hard.
Some call it Happy Hour, some call it girls night, some journal and some call it confession or testimony sharing. Whatever it is- it is healthy and good and you.
One group I am a part of has a weekly "Flame Free Friday Confession." It's a judgement free zone to share all those "shoulds" and get them off our chest and let them go. Confessions range from just wanting to have time alone, not cooking "enough", having less than tidy homes, losing patience, serving the same meal multiple days in a row until the family eats it, having cereal for 3 meals/day, forgetting anniversaries, leaving kids at camp an extra hour because the pick up time was earlier than recalled, forgetting gymnastics performances, catching dinner on fire, hitting the parked car in the driveway with your other family car, staying at happy hour longer to avoid helping with kids bedtime, having a few extra cocktails at the party because a sober conversation at home was too hard, wearing fitbits while mowing because the shaking arms get the extra "steps" and therefore exercise could be skipped that day, sleeping in Sunday mornings because that seemed more important than a woship service, etc. etc. etc. . (And before anyone judges that these are all one gender confessions- they're not. Both genders have the case of the shoulds and confession ability.)
We aren't perfect. We need to let ourselves be human. Humans who make mistakes and have shortcomings and are continual works in progress.
So find your strength to be honest with friends, family, a journal, this blog or just yourself. It's time
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