Similar to the five Love Languages, the five Languages of Apology show a person how they give and receive apologies. While there are many ways to convey remorse, understanding both your own and others’ languages can foster healthy communication, and therefore help to smooth over any conflicts that arise in your relationships.

Becoming a mother, I began to experience mom guilt. I began to notice myself feeling inadequate within minutes of my first child being born.

At first, this inadequacy was quiet and simply nagged that I needed to learn more about motherhood. The longer it lingered, the more it became unnoticeable as a thought, and it became second nature as a feeling of constant guilt. This is a great example of how unchecked thoughts turn into unmanageable emotions, and emotions turn into behaviors.

The behavioral outcomes of mom guilt looked like me demanding others to meet my expectations, me setting unrealistic expectations, me fearing, me overworking, and me projecting all of this and more on my husband or others. It became manifested in my outcomes, and this is when it was most noticeable. I had to make a change. In this case, I made an exchange; my mom guilt, for God’s perfect peace.