Dear Younger Self,

You have always liked to assign fault for things that happen in life.  It makes perfect sense to you to try to find out who caused a problem and place the blame on that person, but this is not a productive use of your mental and emotional energy.  Blaming yourself, others, or God for actions can cause strife, condemnation, and a negative environment.

I will give you an example that actually occurs in your garage a few years after you are married.  By the time you reach your late 20s, you will have two children, a sweet, timid son and an outgoing, brash daughter, and become a minivan-driving soccer mom.  One morning, you are rushing around in attempts to get the children out the door to one of their activities on time.  You locate the keys, gather the kids’ needed equipment, and fasten each child in their car seat.  Your heart beats faster as you realize you are once again running late.  You close the van doors, hop into the driver’s seat, and turn your key in the ignition.  Instead of the engine roaring to life, the car does not respond.  Your daughter’s sing-song voice pipes up from the back seat, “Whose fault is it this time, Mommy?”

Yikes!  Talk about convicting words!  Sometimes life just happens, and no one is to blame.   Cars break down.  Kids get sick.  Stuff malfunctions.  Even when your day doesn’t go like you expected it to, release your instinct to accuse others in order to justify yourself.   When you work together to find a solution, everybody wins.

This post is part of a  31 Day Blogging Challenge entitled Advice to my Younger Self.  Please click here  to find all the posts in this series.  You’ll be glad you did!