I read a talk about this proverb, by President Uchtdorf, and it has motivated me to stop feeling guilt and move forward. Let me give you some examples.
Didn't lose all of the pregnancy weight
Mommy Guilt!!
Oh, to understand the worries of a mom. I want to be the best mom that I can be for my son, but mommy guilt can be paralyzing... and then we enter another vicious cycle. The more I focus on mommy guilt, the more aggravated and impatient I am as a mom. HOWEVER, if I realize that I am never going to be the perfect mom, but that I can progress, I am happy and a better mom today than I was yesterday. No perfection to worry about. I just need to plant the seeds today and stay on the path that leads to me being a better mom. It takes time for a seed to become a tree.
Parenting Flops
I truly believe my son is a genius. He could recognize and sound out every letter of the alphabet before he was two years old. He can count to ten. He can count backwards from ten. He has memorized every book we've read and every song we have sung. The list goes on and on. Plus, I am a biased mother :) Do you know what he doesn't know how to do? (BECAUSE OF ME?!) Sit in his high chair and eat dinner. I seriously did not enforce dinner time! I just let him snack at various times, whenever he was hungry.
Perhaps snacking when he is hungry is healthier, but if we eat dinner at your house, he is not going to understand sitting in a high chair for dinner. He will have a melt down. Oh man... I should have planted that seed TWO YEARS AGO! Thank heaven I heard this talk, though. My husband and I decided we were going to tackle this together and teach a two-year-old the habit of sitting and eating dinner in a high chair. We planted the seed later than we should have, but it's planted. We stopped looking at the past to dwell on what we did wrong. We decided to change today. We see growth every day and are learning how to be better parents.
Leave the past in the past
I hope we can encourage each other to leave the past where it should be... behind us. Let's focus on what we can change today. Do you wish you would have gone to school? Start your path for education today. Do you wish you would have studied something differently? Do something about it today. Did someone say sorry to you? Forgive them today. Say sorry today. Start heading in the direction you want today and stop letting guilt trap you in vicious cycles.
I'm thankful that this life is really about progress. The Savior provided the atonement to let us get rid of our guilt. For that, I am forever thankful.
Do you want to read the talk that inspired me? Here is the link: