When my daughter was 6, she was invited to a birthday party at a roller skating rink. A couple days later, I got a call from my friend at the party that said that Caitlyn (my daughter) was having a hard time with the attention being focused on someone else so she ended up kind of railroading the whole birthday party. Of course, hearing that devastated me because I didn't know what I was going to do so I ended up calling my mom crying about how I was clueless on how to handle this. But my Mom gave me what I still to this day consider the best parenting advice that I've ever received:

"Rebecca, she is 6 years old. Why would you be surprised if a 6 year old acts like a 6 year old?"

That statement to this day continues to provide the foundation for the way my husband and I parent our kids because we fully expect our children to make mistakes. Even MASSIVE ones. But because we do, the grace is already there. Because the grace is already there, my kids feel the freedom to come and tell us (at least from what we know) when when they do something wrong.

The reason I'm sharing this story with you is because you have a heavenly Father who fully expects you to make mistakes. In fact, He knows exactly when you're going to make them and He also knows how bad they're going to be. He even knows the shame that you're going to feel because He sent His Son to bear and take it upon the cross for you. Your Father knows you're going to make mistakes and so when you do, the grace is already there. The forgiveness has already been extended and so I hope this frees you up to unburden yourself today in front of the Lord, who is your heavenly Father who loves you.