I decided, right there in Aisle 11, to stop judging that woman. Don't judge, give grace.
In Consideration of Moms
The other night as I was mowing the yard, I accidently ran over my garden hose, which required an immediate trip to the local hardware store for a replacement. As I was there scanning the hundreds of hose options available, there was woman at the other end of the isle screaming: “Chase get over here!” “Chase, I mean it!” “That’s it, you are not going outside tomorrow!” This went on for a long time, and the more she kept repeating herself, the angrier I got. I even resorted to shooting this mom dagger-like looks trying to silently tell her she had no control over her kid and I was over it. I was just about to be snide and ask her if she found it ironic that she was chasing a kid she named Chase, all over the Home and Garden department, when suddenly I had another thought: Don’t judge, give grace.
It was when I looked at this mom though different eyes that I realized, I had no clue what was going on in her and Chase’s lives. Was she a single mom, with no support system? Did Chase have Autism or ADHD? Or was she in the same situation that all moms have been in before? Stuck in public with a tired, amped up, ill-acting child, who was taught manners, but seems to have forgotten them in the moment. A moment where you as a parent already know your child’s acting like the spawn of an uncivilized caveman, and you don’t need anyone else to point that out for you, let alone roll their eyes and huff at you.
I decided, right there in Aisle 11, to stop judging that woman, and my challenge to you is to recognize these “less than stellar” moments in other mothers lives as well. Offer a kind word instead of a look of annoyance. I know at some point we’ll all be that woman, and I will give you grace if you give it to me in return. We as women and mothers owe each other that courtesy.
