AM: I’m worn out with it. I’m constantly in tumult. It’s like there’s one thing that gets solved and then there’s the next thing I cling on to. I’m worn out with it. 

Betty: But you’re doing it to yourself. It’s your demands and your expectations. You need to give God your demands and expectations and ask him, “Please, Lord, I’m wearing myself out. You know of all these demands and expectations that arise in me. You know which ones are from you and which ones are from my Perfectionist or Satan himself.” Give them to the Lord. Ask him to help you sort them out, and stay in the present moment. Because you’re meant to be a witness of God’s peace and joy. You’re beating on yourself, because you’re not as good as God. First, bring it to the Lord, and ask Him to help you sort out those expectations and demands. Because I think you’ll be able to relax more and have more peace when you get rid of your Perfectionist and Satan’s demands, and just have what God is encouraging you to do. God doesn’t demand. He encourages. If you feel it’s like a demand, you know it’s either your Perfectionist or Satan. I’m sorry for not being more, but I don’t feel from God any pressure or demand. He knows I’m a creature. It’s my Perfectionist that really wanted more. Oh, if you could only do this, what a difference it would make. 

It seems so simple. It’s your Perfectionist from inside. I think Satan always bangs on our weakness. He is a master at knowing where the weaknesses are. I think the Lord is pleased with Annemarie. I venture to say that He’d probably say something like, “If only she could relax and stay in the present moment and just say she’s sorry if she believes she has done something offensive.” That’s it. He understands your pressures. He understands modern kids nowadays. They are trying to wiggle every way they can to avoid responsibility. I think that’s harder on parents. Back when I was their age. I think people handled responsibility better. We didn’t have the kind of culture those kids have to put up with. Our culture was given this example of what it means to be an adult. You take responsibility. You don’t go around blaming others. We had those kind of examples of the adults before us. I think our poor kids have the example of a lot of adults that haven’t grown up themselves who are kind of okaying bad behavior.