An Open Confession to God and My Mother (and the rest of the world if it will help)

Dear God,

This is my confession of faith and a very sincere request for forgiveness.

I know that You are real. I have no doubt about it. In fact, I have never doubted it. I also know and believe that You are just and that you forgive all who ask for forgiveness. I also know that there are some sins that we commit that have consequences which we must continue to live with. You don't always choose to just remove those consequences from our lives as a reminder that we need to remember not to continue to repeat that sin over and over again. So, in that vein, just in case I have not completely and entirely confessed and asked forgiveness for this particular sin, or maybe its because my repentance has not been a true repentance, and I need to work on that part a little bit harder....here it is.

I confess that as a teenager I was a miserable morning person. In fact, I was probably the worst, most anti-morning teenager who ever walked the face of the Earth. There is nobody who was ever worse at it than I was. I know that this is true because, when I was 17, I heard my father, early on a Sunday morning, laughing and telling my mother that he was going to sneak down the hallway and open my door very carefully and - I believe the words were "tap me on the shoulder with a ten foot pole" - and then run away as quick as possible. Then I heard something about a bear, followed by laughter.

I know and confess that I was a miserable morning person back then and to that end I have endeavored as an adult to improve my attitude and disposition in the morning hours. I promise that I REALLY HAVE TRIED.

So, why do you keep punishing me with this teenage daughter (terrorist) of mine. I cannot imagine that I was ever a worse morning person than she is. In fact, I think that she is probably 100 times worse in this department than I ever was. So, I am BEGGING FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS. I know that You are real, and I know that you forgive, so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME. I not only ask for your forgiveness for this sin but I also promise that I will continue to live a life of repentance in this area. PLEASE DELIVER ME FROM THIS TEENAGE MORNING TERRORIST (and her little sister too).

DEAR MOM:

I cannot tell you enough how sorry I am for all of the horrors I bestowed on you as a teenage non-morning person (terrorist). I ask for your forgiveness for this sin against you and our family. Please forgive me. I really have endeavored to be a better morning person as an adult. If you ever wished that I would have a child just like me so I could see what I put you through as a teenager - BINGO! I can honestly say that I do not wish little Miss Morning Joy (totally not) on herself as revenge. NO MOTHER DESERVES THAT. I believe I have learned my lesson - over and over and over. Unfortunately, I can't take any of it back because there are no do-overs - only the promise of do-betters going forward.