“When Loving Your Child Hurts… but You Love Them Anyway.” - Dawn Love

Picture a woman who has loved so hard, cried so deep, and kept showing up anyway. That’s the kind of love this story is about—the type mothers carry even when their hearts feel like they’re being stretched to the edge.

A mom named Keya once said her biggest fear wasn’t that her kids would mess up…but that their mistakes would break them more than they broke her. She had two kids, both full of fire, curiosity, and a talent for doing the exact opposite of what she begged them to do. And every time they stumbled, it hit her soul in a way nobody warned her about. It wasn’t anger—it was that mix of frustration, fear, heartbreak, and that “Lord, help me” whisper that only mothers understand.

One year, her oldest child spiraled—bad decisions, bad influences, bad attitude. The kind of season where a mom goes from “I got this” to sitting in the bathroom with the lights off, asking herself where she went wrong. But here’s the part people forget unconditional love doesn’t mean painless love. It means love that survives the pain. Keya loved her kids through that season with an almost supernatural calm. Not perfect—but present. Not unbreakable—but unshaken. She learned that loving children through their chaos isn’t about fixing them, it’s about guiding them while they’re learning to fix themselves. And slowly, her child came back. Not instantly, not magically—but steadily. Because when the world felt unsafe, their mother was still a home.

For any mother fighting that same emotional battle, here are a few truths every woman should tuck in her heart:

First, remember that kids don’t grow in straight lines. Their development has curves, dips, and emotional potholes. When they act in ways that hurt you, it’s often because they don’t yet know how to deal with what’s hurting them.

Second, don’t confuse loving them with rescuing them. Sometimes unconditional love looks like boundaries, accountability, and telling them “I’m here, but I’m not doing this for you.”

Third, separate the child from the behavior. The moment you attach their identity to their mistakes; you dim the light they’re trying so hard to learn how to carry.

Fourth, heal yourself as you guide them. You can’t lead a child out of emotional darkness if you’re stumbling in your own. Therapy, prayer, community, rest—take them seriously. Strong mothers stay strong by refilling, not by pretending to be invincible.

Lastly, remind your child that nothing they do changes who they are to you. That doesn’t mean tolerating disrespect or chaos. It means saying, "I love you enough to hold you accountable. You matter enough for me not to give up on you."

A mother’s love isn’t about perfection—it’s about endurance. It’s a quiet, steady promise that even when a child wanders, they will always have a place to return to. And as long as a child knows they are loved—truly, deeply, consistently—they always find their way back.

This story sits in that powerful space where love and growth collide, and it opens the door for so many conversations about generational healing, emotional resilience, and the way mothers shape the world even in their hardest seasons.

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