Strength for the Single Parent

This testimonial is from Esther Slade and her family. She shares how God worked in her single parent household to provide strength through his Word.



Whenever I watch the daily news cast on television or read the headlines, I often wonder--How do people cope with the daily struggles and tragedies in life without God? How do people live without Him? How in the world do they manage? How, for example, do you cope with losing a job when you are the sole bread winner for a family of four? How do you handle the loss of medical coverage with little ones? Who is going to pay the mortgage when there is little or no savings?

As a Christian, I live a life of pure dependency upon God and yet there are times when my faith is weak and I become discouraged and yes, even depressed. A single mother of three, I face numerous challenges. First, there are the financial challenges. Then there is the challenge of meeting the emotional needs of three children with different temperaments and of providing a stable family lifestyle without the balance of a male influence. How do I cope?

I rely solely on the promises of God. When I reach those emotional lows where it seems that I am drained of both physical and mental strength, then I remember the promise of God that His "strength is made perfect in weakness.." 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV). And I remember that when I am at my weakest, then I am strong for it is power of Christ that rests upon me. I really think about how unusual that is...that I AM STRONG when I am weak.

I also take comfort in the assurance that I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillipians 4: 13 (KJV). I also remember the words of the Psalmist as he confidently proclaims. "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1 (KJV). It's so nice to know that He is a "very present help". He is not some unreachable, remote God way in the sky that is not in tuned with my earthly struggle. He is right here with me. He feels my pain. He knows my suffering. He knows my frustrations and yes, He loves me despite my weaknesses. That is oh, so, so comforting.

Prayer, Prayer and more prayer that is my motto. I talk to God always, in the car, in front of the computer at work, in the kitchen, on my knees and while lying in bed. "Lord, grant me favor in your sight, have mercy on me, do not reward me according to my sins but according to your righteousness, Help me Lord ." This is my prayer to him. One of the things we do as a family is develop prayer lists. We each have our own prayer list that we read out during prayer. My six year old daughter, Noell has memorized every thing on her list and prays it each night. One year, we placed on our prayer list, a vacation to Walt Disney World. And when God answered our prayer, it was the best vacation we ever had. It was special because we knew it came from God. And it seemed as if everything fell into place--our travel arrangements, the hotel stay, our daily excursions, the meals we ate...it was perfect!! We talked about it constantly. While on vacation, we kept saying, "Thank you Lord!"

I am thankful above all for a God who extends us the invitation to "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (KJV). It's nice to find both rest and strength in these troubled times...
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