Overcoming mom guilt is one of the hardest spiritual and emotional battles mothers fight—and it’s one few people prepare you for.
Your coffee’s cold. The laundry’s loud. And that little voice in your head is louder.
You know the one—it keeps score. Reminds you that you yelled. That you forgot the snack. That you still haven’t done that thing you promised. Again.
Mom guilt creeps in when you’re already bone-tired. It chokes out joy, convinces you you’re not measuring up, and whispers that if you just tried harder, you’d be better. But the truth? Trying harder won’t save you.
Only grace will.
Brooke Frick, author of Hands Full, knows this firsthand. “When I was a new mom, I worried so much about doing everything just right. Learning how to discipline a three-year-old was agony. HOW in the world do I do this?”
Brooke was knee-deep in little ones, second-guessing every move, every tone of voice, every raised eyebrow. Now, years later, she says, “These past 16 years I have had the privilege of watching my children turn into wonderful human beings. And I would claim love as the answer… for love covers a multitude of sins.”
That’s the key to overcoming mom guilt.
Not perfection. Not performing. Not Pinterest-worthy routines or emotionally curated responses. Love.
Love that shows up in the apology after you lose your cool. Love that scoops up your child mid-meltdown. Love that forgets the juice box but remembers to tuck them in tight and whisper, “I’m so glad I’m your mom.”
You’re going to mess up. You’re going to lose your patience. And yes, you’ll forget it’s pajama day at least once a year. But grace doesn’t keep score—and your kids? They don’t either.
“I still yell on occasion,” Frick admits. “I forget to buy the stuff or volunteer for the party. But I love my children so, so very much. And the best part is, I think they believe me.”
Overcoming mom guilt starts when we stop striving and start soaking in the truth: your kids don’t need a perfect mom. They need a present one.
The woman who kisses scraped knees and folds socks and prays under her breath while sweeping Cheerios off the floor. The one who’s doing the deep, unseen work of shaping lives with late-night hugs and peanut butter sandwiches and whispered prayers of “God, help me do this well.”
Brooke puts it plainly: “Stop worrying so much about all the ways you are not ‘measuring up’ to the mom you wanted to be, and go hug your children.”
You’re not failing. You’re mothering.
And grace—big, abundant, unshakable grace—is running right alongside you. It covers the forgotten homework and the frozen-pizza dinners. It holds you up on the days you want to run away, and whispers, “You’re still doing holy work.”
You don’t have to wait to feel like you’re doing it well. The simple, steady work you’re doing right now—yes, this—is building hearts, building faith, and building futures.
Overcoming mom guilt doesn’t mean you never mess up again. It means you learn to tell yourself the truth:
You are loved. You are chosen. You are covered in grace.
And you don’t have to carry the guilt anymore.
If you’re deep in the trenches and desperate to believe that love really is enough, Hands Full is the devotional you need. It won’t ask for more of you—it’ll remind you Who holds you. One honest, grace-drenched page at a time.
Read the first chapter of Hands Full today and start overcoming mom guilt—one powerful truth at a time.
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