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Success story: Single mom with a newborn and a toddler

 
 

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I met Sarah three years ago when she came to our church’s DivorceCare class. Sarah had just had her second child a few weeks before. Her first child was only a toddler and now here she was with a newborn.

Sarah didn’t want the divorce but while she was at the hospital having her second child her husband was out making another child. Sarah was a basket case. She was broken, still physically healing from the birth of her baby, numb, sad, angry, and depressed and that was all on a daily basis.

It has been a long road for my single mom friend but she didn’t give up and we didn’t give up on her. I couldn’t give up on Sarah because she has two children who need to know the Lord– and who need to be ushered into the Kingdom.

How the God provided

Sarah recognizes how the Lord has intervened in her life. She knows He has provided for her in many ways. Here are some highlights from her single mom life.

  • Her parents invited her to come back home while she was reeling from the betrayal of her husband.
  • Her mom was able to help with babysitting so Sarah could go back to work as soon as she was released from the doctor. (Do you have any idea of what childcare would have cost for a newborn and a toddler?)
  • Sarah worked in the afterschool program at the public school and was able to work extra hours to help make ends meet while she went to college.
  • She figured out how to apply to receive a Habitat for Humanity home and started the process.
  • With the help of church friends, many from our single parent group, was able to complete the required amount of physical labor hours for her Habitat for Humanity home in record time. We rejoiced with her on the day she was handed the keys to her Habitat for Humanity home.
  • She applied for grants and was able to get help for college.

Blessings

  • As soon as her kids were old enough she was able to find a good child care for her two children. The kids love their school. That is a blessing for a single mom.
  • This past month Sarah graduated from college. A huge blessing for a hard working single mom.
  • She applied and was accepted for a teaching position at a local elementary school. She started teaching this January. She recognizes that only through the Lord could this have happened. It is almost unheard of in our area to get a teaching position in the middle of the school year for a first time teacher.
  • Instead of spending money on the graduation ceremony she took her kids to Disney World on Christmas vacation. A blessing for her kids and for Sarah too.
  • She has been able to paint her house, fix it up with seasonal decoration and include her kids in helping decorate. Another big blessing.
  • This past summer she invited our single parent class over for lunch several different times. We were blessed with a place to get together after church.
  • Her kids are learning about Jesus and God. They pray together and attend church together as a single parent family.

It has not been an easy road for Sarah. There were many times she wanted to give up. She would call and I would gently steer her back to her goals. Always bringing God before her and helping her recognize that only the Lord knew the plans He had for her, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) Sometimes I didn’t know what to say but always asked the Lord to lead and give me the words to say.

Disciplining kids late at night by yourself can be a real challenge. There is no one to give you a reprieve or validate if you are doing the right thing. Sarah was smart because she reached out. We had many late night texting marathons and phone calls. Sometimes she just needed to vent. Sometimes she needed to know how to handle a particular situation.

Sarah grew up in church and she got married in the church. When she married it was for life. Even though she tried several times to reconcile it was not to be. Her dreams and hopes of being married to the same man the rest of her life were destroyed.

Sarah didn’t give up. She persevered. More importantly the Lord didn’t give up on Sarah. He walked her through the loneliest of times. He directed her path. He saw her through daily struggles and crisis. He provided.

Be encouraged as you dwell on this single-parent success story. It takes time to heal and it doesn’t happen over night.

I’m so proud for my single parent friend and her kids that I could burst. I pray you and your church can be part of a single parent success story as well.

 

 

4 thoughts on “Success story: Single mom with a newborn and a toddler

  1. Pingback: DC4K » Success Story: Resilient single mom finds Jesus and turns her life around

  2. This is so much like my life, excepting that for 15 years, my ex hit me. The trials, the hardships, the pain. But through it all, seeing God’s grace and purpose in my life. Without Him, I would not be standing, today. He has since brought me through breast cancer, a child that ran away, very little pay for anything at all – to a place where I know He loves me. I recently re-married, after a 12 year divorce, to a man who loves me and cares for me. And I thank God for His love and presence in my life.

  3. Pingback: Single Parent Success Story | Journey Through Divorce

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