When Motherhood Makes You Feel Like A Failure

​Failed? Failed!!!!

The nurse couldn't be serious.  I’d never failed anything in my life and there I sat, in the doctor's office, being told I failed my first glucose test.  My reward? I got to come back for another test. But this one was bigger and badder. I had to drink so much sugar and wait so many hours and get my finger pricked so many times. Failing is always the worst.

Maybe, like me, you failed your first glucose test. Or possibly you’re dealing with another difficult test in life or motherhood. 

There are so many things in this season that seem to slap the “failure” label across our foreheads. But一 what if we’ve been mislabeling ourselves?

What if “failure” isn’t the negative word we think it is? Failing is really evidence that we tried in the first place. 

We’re not on the sidelines, we’re out there on the front lines giving this motherhood thing our best shot. Of course we’re going to take some hits. We’re going to fall on our faces. However, that doesn’t mean we’re a failure. It actually means we’re a doer, a mover, a shaker… a mother.

If you feel like you’re failing in some area of motherhood, look at your situation from a different angle. There might be some miracles hidden in those messy moments. Those hits may make you stronger. God will bless your best effort even in the worst situation. 

Relabel yourself because you’re not a failure. You’re a mother. 

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…”
-Proverbs 24:16

---

Journaling Prompt:
Think about an area of motherhood — or life — where you’ve quietly labeled yourself a failure. What happened that made you feel that way?

Now pause and ask yourself:

• What if this moment isn’t proof that I’m failing, but proof that I’m trying?
• What have these hard moments taught me about strength, grace, dependence on God, or perseverance?
• How might God be using even this messy season to shape me into the mother He created me to be?

Using scripture, write a new label over your life today.
Not “failure.” Something more like— Beloved. Faithful. Growing. Trying. Mother.

---

Reflection Questions

1. What is one area of motherhood or life where you’ve been labeling yourself a failure lately?
2. How would your perspective change if you saw your struggles as evidence that you’re trying instead of proof that you’re failing?
3. What does Proverbs 24:16 teach you about falling down and getting back up again?
4. What is one label you need to release today, and what truth from God can replace it?

---

Prayer

God,

Sometimes motherhood feels like one long series of tests, and too often I walk away feeling like I’ve failed. I replay my mistakes, my impatience, my shortcomings, and I let those moments define me. But You never called me to be perfect — You called me to keep getting back up.

Help me to see myself the way You see me. Remind me that falling doesn’t make me a failure. It means I’m human. It means I’m trying. It means I’m showing up and loving my family the best way I know how.

Teach me to give myself the same grace You freely give me. In the messy moments, help me notice the miracles hidden there — the growth, the resilience, the dependence on You.

When I feel discouraged, strengthen me.
When I feel defeated, lift my head.
And when I’m tempted to label myself by my worst moments, remind me who I really am: loved, chosen, and held by You.
​
Amen.

---

Grab Your Copy

This month, we’re slowing down to talk honestly about the beauty, weight, stretching, joy, and identity-shaping journey of being a mother. Not the polished version. The real one.

Our blogs will be based out of Kaley Rivera Thompson’s devotional, Matrimony, Motherhood and Me. 

To follow along, grab a copy or a few on Amazon.