I had just dropped off my kids at school and unlike the many moms who were probably cheering right now after a crazy summer break with the kids, I was crying because of what my daughter said before she got out of the car: “I can’t believe you are making me go back to school when all I want to do is be with you.”

I had kept my children home to homeschool the year before and although it was a special year and my children did wonderfully academically, for different reasons, my husband and I were sending them all back to school. It was actually the same school they had all gone to since preschool, so the other students were not strangers. And I would be working at the school, so our whole family (except my husband) would be together at the same school, but my daughter’s anxiety was steeped in a feeling of not wanting to be left out.

The year before we left to homeschool, there were a few girls who had a sleepover and did not invite my daughter. They were supposed to be her good friends. My little girl didn’t even know what a good friend was anymore.

The practical steps in Kathi’s book, I Need Some Help Here!, gives hope for a mama that feels brokenhearted! From teaching kids how not to be a victim to brainstorming what a good friend is to the most important lesson of empowering our kids to pray, Kathi shares in this journey of protecting our little ones.

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
To the one who seeks him. . .”
Lamentations 3:25

My daughter found that God’s promise shared in the book was true. For when she went back to school this year, those girls had matured and they all became my daughter’s best friends. In fact, just last week, we took one of the girls out to dinner and she brought up that situation and said how bad she felt for that. It gave my daughter a chance to see that forgiveness can bring healing and God is the One who fills a heart with hope. [Tweet “Forgiveness can bring healing and God is the One who fills a heart with hope.”]

Now my daughter will say that although she loved being homeschooled, she is so happy to have this special year with such good friends before they all go off to high school.

Our lives will never always go according to our plans, so I am thankful for people like Kathi who are willing to share stories of hope and grace so that we know we are not alone in this thing called mothering!

Our author for today’s Bad Mom Monday post is Angie Ryg. Angie has been described as the “fun sister next door.” And like a real sister, she will make you laugh as well as encourage you to drink deeper from the well of God’s grace. Her book Clutter Free Simplicity encourages women to clear the clutter in their hearts and homes by focusing on what is really important — their daily walk with Jesus. She loves to connect with other women about mothering, marriage, and faith on her blog!  Angie’s most important ministries includes being a wife to her childhood sweetheart and mama to one princess and three princes. They enjoy family movie nights, long road trips, and acting out the TV show Chopped.

Angie writes for Family Matters, Focus on the Family, Whatever Girls, and Raising Generations Today, as well as articles for Lysa Terkeurst and Christianity Today.