I’ve been a married woman for more than 10 years now with 3 more children added to the fold. As a converted Catholic, since my sins of my teenaged years have been forgiven by my Father, than I really don’t understand why I shouldn’t be proud of the decisions I have made since. When it comes down to it, that’s all that matters to me. Human beings can feel free to pass judgement on me all they want. I will continue to live my life with my Lord as my guideline.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be proud of the good decisions you’ve made since your bad decisions. Clearly you understand you messed up and have acted responsibly since. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should be held up as an exceptional example for others, as it would have been smarter and wiser not to have made those mistakes in the first place. The truly exceptional are those who have the strength of character and conviction to do what is right from an early age. Sadly, I’m not one of them, but I know of some.