Proverbs 22:17

 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of he wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

Psalm 127 

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Building your house on the Lord is the foundation that will never be shaken! I have a testimony concerning being a single parent, praying that you will find value in what God has taught.

Visiting a church in late 2022, the pastor called me with my family in front of the pulpit, speaking a blessing over our family. He added how difficult life is for single mothers. I interjected with “but I have Jesus”. The Holy Spirit put that true response in my heart and let it flow from my mouth.

 At that moment, I didn’t remember the times I was told having 4 kids was a heavy burden. I didn’t get discouraged, like years before, when someone would say “Woah that’s a lot of kids”. I didn’t even have a wince of sorrow in my mind or heart, as I had carried for years previous. 

When I went home I reflected on what had happened at church, and when I thought of my response “I have Jesus”, I smiled from the inside out. Life had been hard, but not because of the number of children I was blessed with, nor the situations financially in the early duration of their lives. Life was difficult back then because I was depending on people to help, people to guide me, people to support me. I definitely had the thought that if people loved you, they would help ease the burden, they would ask where they could lighten the load.

 I learned that people can only give what they have, and in that lesson, I learned to depend on the one true rock that never changes, God.

 As all of my children have grown to be middle school age or older, the growing pains are still present. No more crying babies or whiny toddlers, no more shuffling elementary schedules- learning to balance children’s time at 3 different schools. 

 I now have a grown child with a child, a young lady forming her early adult life, and 2 middle schoolers finding their way to being young men. They are less dependent but still need a loving guide showing them what a strong foundation is in the Lord. The growth never stops, but I tell you the best change for all of us, was when I decided to stop making phone calls first and started getting on my knees and calling to the Lord. 

This has been a practice. I must say, tears have dropped and anger has been stirred, fear has overwhelmed me and breaking down seemed easier than getting up at times.

Endurance has proved tiring, BUT GOD gives strength when we are oh so weak! 

I pass the verses above on to any mother of a young or older child, any father looking for direction on how to proceed in raising a child or children, blessings, no matter the odds or what anyone else says. 

I pray you read the verses, place them in your hearts, seek the Holy Spirit to lead you and always lean on the everlasting strength of the Rock we call our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we conquer the physical and the spiritual, there is nothing too great for our God to succeed and nothing too small to not be brought to him. He wants us to make sure we know that he is the foundation. Believe in him, build your house on him, bring your children close when they have strayed, correct them according to his word.

 Call on the Lord and let the Holy Spirit direct you to who will help. Support from family and friends is amazing, BUT God is the one who created Amazement.

 Call up to the source first. This is my prayer for all of us parents and for anyone hoping to one day be a parent. Build your house on the Lord.

God Bless