The more I read and study the Bible, the more I realize that one of the world’s most remarkable and high-powered careers is being a godly mother. It is such a humbling honor that God would entrust me with five eternal beings.
Yes, I would much rather my kids have both their dad and mom passionately loving each other and loving them as we all happily live in the same house together, but that is not my reality. Since I no longer have my husband with me, my children are now my first ministry, my highest calling, and my first career. I do not want to revolve around my kids; that’s unhealthy. My relationship with God comes first, then myself, my kids, my extended family, friends, and then my ministry/business.
It’s so amazing and baffling to me that God has equipped all mothers with everything they need to parent their kids in the way they should go, whether they are single or not.
Since God chose me to be a mom, I am the most qualified to raise the children He gave me. It is not always easy; in fact, some days are just painstakingly hard. There have been times when I felt like a shark bit a huge piece out of our family, and therefore, we were functioning without part of our body. We were all trying to learn how to walk again, how to dance again, how to enjoy life with a massive hole in our hearts. How can I have what it takes to raise all these children alone? Would be my daily question.
But the more I cried out to Jesus to help me, heal me and make me whole, the more equipped I became to lovingly raise them and provide exactly what they need. God continually reminds me that He is my employer, and as long as I put Him first and teach my kids to know Him, He promises me that He will always provide for us. Three out of my five kids are now grown, and I can tell you that the verse is true, God has been a good good father. All my kids are thriving.
I have been young, and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous (those in right standing with God) abandoned Or his descendants pleading for bread. Ps. 37:25
Children raised in a single-family home tend to have a stigma on them that they are destined for failure. But we as single moms need to refuse that label for our children. Our children have just as much potential as any other child in the world. Even though it’s hard and doesn’t seem fair that we are single, we have a choice to face our reality and trust that God will be a good father to our kids. Even if they have to be in daycare or out from under our direct supervision, He will always make up for our children’s losses above and beyond anything we could ever hope or imagine.
I would like to encourage you to try and daily look at your children as your first calling. Being a mother is not a distraction trying to steal another, better calling away from you. It is an honor to be a mother. The more you embrace and expect the good and the bad of your calling, the smoother your day will go.