Toxic Sort of Mother

Tonight, I read about a new book coming out about the life of Johnny Carson, and was very impacted by something that the author wrote:

"Many great comedians were miserable human beings ... Johnny suffered a great many demons brought about by what I call a toxic sort of mother," Bushkin said. "His mother couldn't give a compliment. He's the biggest star in the world and she couldn't even acknowledge it."

As a mother, I was somewhat shocked by this statement about Carson's mother. It really makes me more aware of the power we do have as mothers in the lives of our children. I don't want to be a "toxic sort of mother" to my children, particularly to my sons with regards to this article. What damage we can do to our little guys just by our criticism, or even worse in some cases, our lack of praise.

This really breaks my heart as I know that I have failed my sons in many ways in the past...with angry, irrational, foolish words and by withdrawing affection at times. How childish of me! This is the worst things we can do to our children! Withdrawing or withholding love and affection is such a subtle, yet wicked form of emotional abuse. May we as mothers rise up and ask the Lord daily to examine our hearts and to give us the grace and wisdom to provide the encouragement and praise that our sons need as they grow in this world.

Just as we can hurt our husbands by our lack of praise and encouragement, it is the same with our sons. They are just men in the making! We as mothers are the first and most important glimpse of what a woman is meant to be. We are the ones they are looking to for affirmation from the female species. We can be a light to them in this area, or we can hurt them deeply. It is so true, my sisters.

So, let us meditate and pray that we will abide in our Lord and Savior Jesus in order to have the wisdom and love we need to guide our sons and daughters in a very cruel and ruthless world. May we learn from the heart-breaking life of this famous man and may our hearts be broken.

To read full Johnny Carson article, click HERE.